


The Host

by HaleyDewit



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-05-23
Packaged: 2018-01-22 02:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 41,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1572293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaleyDewit/pseuds/HaleyDewit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damon and Elena work together to get Stefan back, but Bonnie's magic puts their priorities elsewhere... (set after the season 2 finale)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First

**Author's Note:**

> Every chapter will be seperated in 10 chapters. I'm going to enter this story for the annual Fanpop's Got Talent contest, so if you all could read it, and then make a (temporarily) account on Fanpop, to vote for it, that would be real nice ;)

**Part 1**

One day after Stefan has joined Klaus.

Damon was lying in his bed, his eyes closed, when a shadow came over him. Soft lips touched his and he opened his eyes, staring at the brown ones of the woman he had loved for many years. He knew it was her; the other girl wouldn't be so playful, especially not now her boyfriend was gone.

"Get off" Damon said, not in the least impressed by her lack of clothing. She tilted her head and put a teasing smile on her face. "Damon, Damon, Damon, you should know better than to say no to me. You know how … vicious I get, when I don't get what I want" She played her fingers around the buttons of his shirt he never took off the night before.

Damon grabbed her fingers and nearly squeezed them. "I said, get off, Katherine. I don't-" He didn't get to finish his sentence, because Katherine firmly pressed her lips on his. "You were saying?" she asked, still with that teasing smile. Damon smiled as well. "You might want to leave" "Why?" she asked with a giggle. Suddenly, she felt her skin boiling and burning.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" she screamed. She jumped right in the corner, seeking the shadow. She looked up, her face a mask of fear. Damon was now sitting up, with a satisfied smile on his face, and at the window…

"Because the sun's coming up" Elena answered Katherine's question.

"Bitch!" Katherine snapped.

"Pleasure's all mine" Elena said without any trace of a smile. She turned to Damon. "Are you getting up? We won't find Stefan while we're sleeping" Damon raised his eyebrows. "Yes, ma'am"

Elena sighed. "Damon. I can't do this alone, I need your help" She looked at Katherine. "And yours" she added. Now Katherine raised her eyebrows. "One little tip, sweetie. If you want vampires to help you, you better not expose them to the sunlight" "I'm sorry, I'm just nervous. You two are playing with each other, while Stefan is missing" Elena explained herself.

Damon, who saw she needed some comforting, raced out of bed and put his strong arms around her. "Don't worry, we'll find him. We'll find him and we'll save him" he whispered in her ear. "I promise" He ignored the soft voice inside of him, praying they wouldn't succeed in their purpose.

Elena, who knew how Damon felt about her, gently pushed him away. "I know you'll do everything that's in your power to get him back" she said with a sharp look in her eyes, as if she could read his mind. Damon nodded.

A cough brought both back to earth. "Yeah, I don't want to ruin this cute, intimate moment, but I'd rather not stay here all day" Katherine said grumpy. "So, if one of you could shut the sun out, that would be real nice"

Elena, who was closest to the window, closed the curtains. 

* * *

 

**Part 2**

A few hours earlier

Klaus and Stefan were sitting at a table with a group of voluptuous clothed women all with the same hungry gleam in their eyes, staring at the young girl sitting in the center of Klaus and Stefan.

She kept her eyes on the table, her heart beating painfully. She should've gone straight home after school, but her boyfriend had asked her to come to this place. There had been something odd about him, like he wasn't himself. Like he was under hypnosis.

And now she was sitting here with these people, who had come sit by her uninvited. First just the men, but one by one the women joined them, as if it was a planned meeting, as if they had been waiting for her. Well, she was here. Her boyfriend, however, was nowhere to be found.

She could use his help right now. If she could just put her hand in her pocket and get out her cell phone. She let her hand glide off the table, but before she could get it into her pocket one of the two men grabbed it and forced her to look up, with a terrified face.

"Please" she begged, tears in her eyes. "Let me go" "What are you up to?" Klaus asked. The girl recognized a British accent. "What do you have in there?" Klaus asked while turning out the girl's pocket, conjuring the cell phone.

He widened his eyes and waved with it. "Were you planning on calling your mommie?" The girl shook her head heavily. "Yes, you were" Klaus said, so soft it was almost a whisper. "And you're going to" He looked the girl sharp in the eye. "You're going to call your mother and you're going to say you got attacked by an animal, but you're okay and you will be staying with your boyfriend"

"Why would I say that?" the girl asked with a trembling voice. "Because it's the truth and because I say so" Klaus answered. He gave her the cell phone and she dialed her home number. She heard a click and then her mother's voice.

"Mom? It's me, Amber. I got attacked by an animal, but I'm okay. I'll be staying with Derek" She heard her mom protesting, but she closed her cell phone. "Good girl" Klaus said. He looked up at Stefan.

"Stefan, where are your manners? You haven't offered Amber a drink yet" "I am so sorry" Stefan said and he brought his arm to his mouth. Ambers eyes bulged when she saw how Stefan's face mutated, how he opened his mouth, showed four large canines, and let them sink into his flesh, blood streaming over his arm.

He grabbed Amber by her hair and forced his bleeding arm on her lips. Amber had no choice but to drink. Stefan pulled his arm back and showed his canines again. "My turn" he said. Amber, who knew that whatever was coming wasn't anything good, begged him to let her go.

"Please, don't hurt me. I just want to go home. Please" she cried. Stefan's face went back normal and his canines grew back to human size. He hesitated, something Amber noticed. Klaus grabbed Amber by her arm and threw her on the ground. She scribbled up and ran outside the door.

"You let her escape!" one of the other women yelled with a high pitched voice.

"Off course not" Klaus slowly said. "There's no fun if the food walks into your arms so easy" He turned to Stefan. "I'd go get her, if I were you. I could easily sent some werewolf to your brother, getting him to bite him...again. I won't be so generous of giving my blood a second time"

Stefan got up and raced out of the door.

Amber ran for her life, having no idea where she was heading to. All she knew was that anywhere was better than the place she had just left. She reached a high fence. She turned around, to make sure she hadn't been followed.

No one was there. She turned back around and started climbing the fence. When she had her feet back on the ground she felt the air breezing in her neck. Her heart pounded in her chest, she swallowed to remove the crop in her throat. She dared not to turn around, because she knew it wasn't just air.

She felt how a cold hand lay her hair over her shoulder, slowly and gently. She squeezed her eyes, tears rolling over her face and hooked her fingers in the holes of the fence. "I'm sorry" she thought she heard him whisper, before she felt a sharp, inflaming pain in her neck. She tried not to make a sound, but something in her took over and screamed the lungs out of her body

* * *

 

**Part 3**

Present Day

Jeremy was brushing his teeth when he saw Anna's reflection in the mirror. He should have startled, but he just spit out the toothpaste and washed his mouth. "When I turn around you'll be gone, won't you?" he said. He saw Anna shrugging her shoulders.

"You'll never know if you don't try" she said. Jeremy turned around and to his surprise Anna was still standing by the window-ledge. "How is this possible?" Jeremy asked. "How can you be standing there while I know you're dead? I saw how they took you. And Damon said they killed you"

Anna looked down. "Damon was speaking the truth, I got killed, I am dead" she answered. "Then why are you standing there, talking to me like a living person?" Jeremy continued asking. Anna lifted her hands. "I haven't figured that out yet. I must have some unfinished business. I was hoping you could help me find out what that is"

"We all want Jeremy's help" a female and familiar voice said. Jeremy rotated his head to the closet to see Vicky, leaning comfortably onto the closet's door. "Hi, Jer, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Jeremy stared at her, not knowing what to say.

"I get why you're so…overwhelmed by our presence. But Anna's right, we have some…unfinished business to solve. The only difference is that I at least know what the…unfinished business in my case is" Vicky explained.

Jeremy pulled a 'you're nuts' face. "And that is?" "Let's see, who attacked me multiple times, snapped my neck and turned me into a vampire?" "What, you're here to take revenge on Damon?" he slowly asked.

Vicky shrugged. "Who knows?" "Stop the cryptic talk. Whatever the truth is, I can handle it. I was dead, you know. Puts quite a lot in perspective" Jeremy said, getting agitated. He turned back to Anna. "And you? Are you here to take revenge on the person who killed you?"

But instead of answering both girls disappeared. Jeremy looked around, feeling cold wind swirling around him.

"Don't ask" he heard Anna's voice whispering in his ear. "Don't tell" Vicky whispered. "Don't search" Anna softly said. "Don't…fall…asleep" Vicky said, before the swirling wind stopped and everything was quiet and peaceful again. Jeremy held onto the hand basin, trying to keep his balance, while heavily breathing.

* * *

 

**Part 4**

"So, what's the plan?" Katherine's voice came out of Damon's bedroom. Damon and Elena were outside, leaning against the wall opposite of the door. "The plan is to lock you in here for all eternity" Damon replied.

"You've always had a great sense of humor, Damon" Katherine sarcastically said. "Come on" Damon said to Elena. He walked downstairs, Elena behind him. "Damon, what  _is_  the plan?" Elena asked.

Damon opened the door and let Elena go first as he answered. "We're going to your place" he said. Elena blinked. "Why? How is going to my house solving Katherine's problem?"

"We need to have something. Something your witch friend can put a spell on to protect Katherine from the sun" Damon explained. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but I don't really have woman friendly stuff in my house" Elena nodded. That made sense.

"Wait! I have to give something that belongs to me to her?" Elena now realized upset. Damon shrugged his shoulders. "Only temporarily. Once we get Stefan back and we're all safe and happy you get back whatever you'll give and then she can burn like a barbecue steak for all I care" he said with a smirk.

"Well, I guess I can miss something. I'll see" Elena reluctantly gave in. "Get in the car" Damon said waving at the car.

A few minutes later Elena opened the door of her house, running into Jeremy. She waved at her brother, but he was looking behind her. "Damon! I can see you!" he said shocked.

Damon frowned his eyebrows. "Yeah, good for you" he slowly said with an expression that looked as if he seriously questioned Jeremy's mental well-being. "But you're dead!" Jeremy continued. "Thanks for rubbing it in, pal!" Damon said.

Elena made a few steps towards her brother. "Jeremy, are you okay? You haven't been taking any drugs, have you? Let me see your eyes" she commanded, sounding worried.

"Maybe he's on blood now" Damon suggested. Elena abruptly turned around. "You're not helping, so stay out of it" She turned back to her brother. "What's going on?" she asked, accenting every word.

"I don't know" Jeremy said, helplessly lifting his hands. "I don't know what's wrong. I'm probably just hallucinating. Maybe I just need to get some rest. Yes, that's what I should do"

"But…" Elena started to protest, but Jeremy already ran upstairs. She looked at Damon. "What the hell was that all about?" Damon lifted his hands. "I don't know, I'm just…staying out of it"

* * *

 

**Part 5**

The sun fell on Amber's face and she woke up by the heat of it. She rubbed her eyes, trying to orientate, as she saw a man sitting next to her. He looked familiar. As she tried to recall she felt an insistent pain in her neck. She lay her hand on it, to see what it was.

"I bit you, that's why you're in pain" Stefan explained. Amber looked at him. "Who are you?" she asked, crawling backwards. Stefan reached out his hand. "I'm here to help you" he said softly.

Amber shook her head. "No, stay away from me!" she said terrified. Stefan didn't move an inch. "You need help. You're in transition, it's not a nice feeling if you don't feed anytime soon. I bet you're starving" he said.

Amber shook her head heavily as her stomach rattled. "I'm going home" she said with a breaking voice. "Leave me alone!" She scribbled up and staggered away from Stefan.

* * *

 

**Part 6**

Damon was lying on Elena's bed as Elena was going through her jewelry, looking for some bracelet or necklace she didn't like anyway. "I think your wiccan friend might be an issue" Damon said.

"How's that?" Elena asked distracted without turning around. "Well, she and I are not the best friends, you know. I doubt she'll invite me in, in her magical little house" Damon replied.

"So?" Elena shrugged. "You can wait outside, we don't need you to do the spell" Damon frowned his eyes angry. "Well, then I suppose I can go back home, so I can play with Katherine, like you said so expressing this morning" he said grumpy.

Now Elena turned around so quickly her neck cracked. She ignored the pain and shot Damon a furious look. She grabbed a necklace and walked to Damon. "She can have this one" she waved with the necklace, trying to sound normal. "I tried it on and it doesn't suit me. So, if it doesn't look good on me, it won't look good on her, either"

Damon got up and walked towards Elena until he was just an inch away. He took her hands and looked her in the eyes. "I don't believe that for a second, Elena" he said softly. "I think you can make the most worn diamond look brand new"

A tensing silence filled the room as they stared in each other's eyes until Elena averted her head. "We have to go" she said, swallowing. She left her room, walking downstairs.

Damon waited a few seconds, thinking in himself. He had to keep himself together. It was not going to happen. She loved Stefan, period.

"Damon? Are you coming?" Elena shouted from down the stairs. "Yeah!" Damon shouted back. "I'm there" He left the room and ran downstairs to find Elena waiting for him.

"What were you still doing there?" Elena asked slowly. "Just… thinking" Damon said honest. Elena nodded. "Okay" She opened the front door, walking to the car. As she and Damon got in the car and he started the engines she lay her hand on his.

"Damon" she sighed. "We need to talk. About what happened last night" Damon looked down at the steering wheel before he looked at Elena. "I know what you're going to say" he started.

"You thought I was going to die. You thought you would never see me again. And though you love Stefan you do care about me and you felt the need to let me die with a happy feeling. It was a sweet kiss, and I will cherish it, but it was nothing but a moment of compassion"

Elena blinked and shook her head confused. "What, I-" "Elena" Damon said as he caressed her hair behind her ear. "It's okay. I understand. I don't want you to love me against your will" He looked back eyes front and pushed the accelerator pedal.

* * *

 

**Part 7**

A woman with brown curly hair was cleaning the lunch table while looking at the clock on the wall every five seconds. Her husband was gone working. She still couldn't believe it. How could he be so calm?

"Don't worry, Rachel, she's with Derek. She called you, that means she's learning to be responsible"

Responsible, my ass, Rachel thought. Responsible would be coming home after school instead of hanging around with that boyfriend of hers. And could she really trust him? After all he was a seventeen year old guy who probably did his thinking with his dick instead of his head.

As she was caught up in her concern, the front door opened but no one came in the kitchen. Rachel frowned and put down the cloth she had just used to clean the sink. She walked to the kitchen door and wanted to open it when the latch was pushed down and Amber pushed the door open.

She looked completely wrecked. There was blood on her neck, her face was patchy from the tears she cried, her clothes were dirty and ripped and her hair was a mess. Rachel gasped and covered her mouth before throwing an arm around her daughter.

"Oh my God" she said heavily breathing. "Who has done this to you?" she moaned while Amber was crying again. She took Amber's face in her hands and repeated her question looking her sharp in the eye.

Amber shook her head. "I… I don't know. I didn't see" she sobbed, avoiding to look in her mother's eyes. "Sweetie, I know you're scared" Rachel said serious and comforting. "But you have to go to the police. You have to report this. Even if you don't know who it was"

"No, I can't go to the cops. He'll find me and he'll kill me. The police can't stop him, he'll kill them, too. Don't get anyone else involved in this, okay?" Amber pleaded. "Please, mom" she begged when her mom didn't answer.

"Amber, you were assaulted. You can't just let this guy get away with it" Rachel protested. Now Amber would hate her, but she knew that someday she would thank her.

However, the hating part came out now. Amber pushed her mother so hard she fell down a few yards further. She just missed the wall. Rachel looked up with a surprised look in her eyes. What the heck?, she thought.

Amber walked towards her in a high speeded race, grabbed Rachel by her neck and lifted her up. "Now we're going to make a deal. You shut up about this whole thing and I don't rip your head off, because I'm really trying to control myself"

Rachel gave a little nod; that's all she could since Amber was squeezing her throat. Amber let go of her and she fell hard on the ground, looking up frightened. "So" Amber said. "What's there to eat?"

* * *

 

**Part 8**

Damon and Elena were standing in front of Bonnie's house, waiting for Bonnie to open up. Elena looked from the door to Damon, seeming to be uncomfortable.

"Maybe you should let me do the talking" she suggested. "Like you said, you and Bonnie are not the best friends" Damon pursed his lips. "Suuuure, all you want" he said with a smirk and a wink.

The door went open and Bonnie looked at them. "Hi, Elena" she said and hugged her friend. She looked at Damon as if he was dirt. "Sorry, but I'm not going to hug you" "But that would've been the highlight of my day!" Damon said sarcastic, which gained him an angry eyeshot from Elena.

"Don't play games with me, Damon" Bonnie said. "Say what you want and get the hell out of here" Elena made a step forward. "We need your help" she showed her the necklace. "We need you to put a spell on this, so it can protect people from the sun"

Bonnie's face stiffened. "By people you mean vampires, I assume" she said with a cold voice that didn't suit her, but that usually was reserved for Damon. "Well, yeah" Elena said reluctantly.

Bonnie shook her head. "I can't believe you're asking me this, Elena. I'm going against all of my believes if I do this. Last time I helped them I almost lost Jeremy! I won't go through that again!" she said upset.

She turned to Damon. "This is your idea, isn't it? Of course it is. Only you can come up with something that tactless. You really have no shame-whoah" Bonnie lost her balance and Damon caught her by her shoulders, pushing her back on her feet.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" Elena asked concerned. She nodded. "Damon, let's go" Elena said softly. "She's right. We were wrong to ask her" She and Damon turned around and walked away.

"Wait!" they heard a few seconds later. They turned around again, waiting for Bonnie to catch up with them. "Who do you want to protect?" she asked serious.

"It's not that I want it" Elena started. "But we have to protect Katherine. We need her to find Stefan back. She knows Klaus better than Damon and I"

"How do you know she's not playing tricks with you? Maybe she will lead you right in his arms" Bonnie said.

"I survived him once. Facing him again is a risk I'll have to take" Elena answered.

"And what if Katherine is planning on killing you? Offering you to Klaus to get Stefan back?" Bonnie continued.

"That's a possibility, but I know Damon won't let that happen" Elena said.

"Why, because he's in love with you?" Bonnie asked sarcastic.

Elena looked at Damon and he looked back right in her eyes. "That's only one reason" she softly said.

* * *

 

**Part 9**

Katherine was lying lazy on the bed, looking bored at the ceiling. She would kill Klaus for taking her bracelet. Correction, she would let Damon kill him. She was really strong, but yet no match for the Originals.

Not that Damon was, but if she had to choose, she believed her afterlife to be more worthy than Damon's. "Geez, hurry up" she mumbled frustrated. Being locked up in this room was getting on her nerves.

There was nothing interesting in here and you could only examine Damon's rubbish so many times. After a while it was not fun anymore. The door went open and Katherine got up. Finally, she thought.

Damon and Elena walked in, looking both bedraggled, which made Katherine immediately suspicious. "What have you two been doing?" she asked slowly. Damon and Elena shared a look.

"It's not what you think" Damon said, with a nearly unnoticed undertone of disappointment. "The car broke down and it's storming outside, but I bet you've heard the rain" he explained. "And you ran through the rain?" Katherine asked contemptuously.

"Something like that" Damon replied mischievous.

Right after Bonnie had cast the spell the sky had split open and it started raining. Bonnie had suggested to let Elena shelter in her house; Damon would have to go home alone and Bonnie would give Elena a ride to her house.

Damon had walked away already, because he believed Elena would accept Bonnie's offer. But when he tried to start the car he saw Elena in front of the car. He let the window down. "Do you have a death wish or something? Get out of the way!" he yelled.

Elena walked to the passenger's side and got in. "I'm coming with you" she said. "Really?" Damon asked suspicious. "Damon, I ran through the rain. I'm soaked. Don't go question my honesty now" Elena said.

"Okay, I just… I assumed you'd stay with your friend" Damon said, still surprised. "You assumed wrong" Elena said calm. Damon focused on the car again, with no success. "I can't get him started" he said annoyed.

"Yeah" Elena said pointing at the gas meter. "You forgot to gas" Damon looked and groaned. "God, talking about cliché. Okay, we've got two options. We stay here until it stops raining, which could take hours. Or we run"

Elena stared at the rain. She knew what she wanted, but that didn't make it the best option. She sighed and looked at Damon. "We can't let Katherine wait any longer than she has to"

Damon nodded and took the car key before getting out. He opened Elena's door and helped her out. He threw her arm around his shoulder and lifted her in his arms. "Ready? Hold on, here we go" And they raced away.

"Here's the necklace" Damon said and he threw the necklace to Katherine. She caught it. "You're not going to tell me what happened, are you?" she said.

Damon and Elena shared another look. "Nope" Damon said.

* * *

 

**Part 10**

Night came in and Amber's mood had not gotten any better. She was in her room, throwing all her stuff around. She was angry. No, she was starving. The crap she had found in the fridge couldn't be called food.

She heard a key; it sounded like it happened right next to her. She heard footsteps and her father saying "I'm home!" She heard him walk to the kitchen and opening the fridge. As he got himself a beer he saw Rachel sitting on the couch.

He walked towards her and sank down to her. That's when he saw the bruisers on her cheek. "What happened? Who did this? Where's Amber?" he asked insisting. Rachel looked up with a weird gleam in her eyes. She smiled silly. "Really stupid" she said. "I ran into a glass door, when I was doing grocery's"

"Where's Amber? Did she come home?" he repeated. Rachel nodded. He got up with the intention to go to his daughter's room. Amber looked around, agitated. She had to get out. She couldn't risk hurting her dad as well. It was bad enough to hurt her mom.

She turned to the window, realizing no other option was left. Just when she wanted to put her plan into action she felt a firm grip on her arm. She turned around and looked in Stefan's face.

"You" she groaned and wanted to scratch him. He avoided her sharp nails. "If you want to escape, we might as well escape together" Stefan said, being his calm self.

"You just want to deliver me to that other guy" Amber said scared. "Listen to me" Stefan said. "I want to help you" But Amber bit his arm with her fangs and jumped out of the window.

She landed on her feet and ran instinctive to the shag next to the house. She turned around, to see where Stefan was, but he wasn't there. Backwards she shuffled the shag in. She kept walking backwards, keeping her eyes focused on the door, until her back hit something.

She turned around slowly and when she saw what she had bumped into, it felt like someone had driven a stake through her heart; though she had no idea how that felt, but she imagined it would be something like that.

She wanted to scream, but a hand covered her mouth. "Don't make a sound" Stefan said accenting every word. He removed his hand and jumped up, untied the rope and dropped the body that was hanging there.

Amber bent down on her knees and sobbed. "Derek. What happened to him? Why did he do this?" "Oh, haven't you heard?" Stefan said cheerful. "He was having a depression. Both his parents murdered by some beast that had sucked them dry. Having nightmares. He just couldn't take it anymore. He wrote a goodbye letter. You want to read it?"

Amber looked up, feeling like she had to vomit. "He talked to me yesterday!" she cried. "He asked me to come…" she paused, because suddenly she understood everything.  _There had been something odd about him, like he wasn't himself. Like he was under hypnosis._

"You did something to him" she said slowly. "You've put him under a spell or hypnosis to make him do everything you ask. Like that other guy did. He did something with my mind, making me call my mom" she looked back at Stefan, fear being replaced by grudge.

"You killed him! You've murdered my boyfriend!" She tried to punch him and kick him, but Stefan speeded away, reappearing at Derek's head. He lifted the body with one hand. "Don't you want a bite?" he teased Amber.

Amber adverted her head. "I'm not feeding on my boyfriend" She heard a crack and turned around. Stefan had bitten Derek's neck. Though first upset the blood streaming over Derek's neck wakened a new and strange longing inside of her.

"Just try it" Stefan tempted her. He held the body in front of her and she took the head in her hand, sucking the blood. Stefan grinned as she seemed to enjoy it. Amber grabbed the head with more force and drove her fangs into the flesh, more blood spilling on the ground.

* * *

* * *

 


	2. Accusations and Confusion

**Part 1**

Morning came and Jeremy lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He hadn't slept at all. Not that he hadn't tried, but every time he just closed his eyes something happened. His bed would start shaking, the windows opened and let's not forget the strange noises he had heard. He knew what it was, but that didn't make it any less scary.

At some point Anna and Vicky had to understand he had to sleep. He couldn't stay awake forever. Though the girls did a very good attempt to postpone bedtime as long as possible. He got out of bed and went downstairs, finding Alaric all dressed up, but Elena was absent.

"Good morning, Jeremy" Alaric said. "Hi" Jeremy said and he sank down on a chair. "Where's Elena?" he asked as he shoved the bread to him."She's at Stefan's house" Alaric said. Jeremy raised his eyebrows. "Stefan's house, huh? So, she's with Damon. Did she spend the night there?"

"Well, yeah, but Katherine's there, too. And there are plenty of rooms there. And don't forget Elena is still Stefan's girlfriend and Damon knows that" Alaric said feeling uneasy. Though Jeremy still wasn't convinced he shut up about it. "I'm going to see Bonnie. I have to talk to her" Alaric looked up. "Something important?" he asked trying to sound casual.

"Maybe" Jeremy said avoiding. He didn't want too many people to get involved into this. He couldn't lose anyone else. And Alaric was in no position to help. "Bonnie is the only one that can help me" he decided.

* * *

**Part 2**

The door of Damon's bedroom went open and Katherine walked in with a breakfast plate. Damon looked up with a weird expression. "What are you doing, Katherine?" "Bringing you breakfast, of course" she said lifting the plate.

She walked to the bed and crawled on it. "It has all your favorites" she said pleased with herself. Damon looked at the plate. "No, these are all your favorites" Damon said. "You're lucky I'm not picky" He took one of the sandwiches and bit it.

"You know, if you're hitting on me, you can just-" He stopped and gagged. Katherine looked at Damon with a worried face. "Damon?" she asked. Damon ran out of bed to the bathroom. He spit out what was left of the sandwich and washed his mouth.

He staggered back into his bedroom and looked at Katherine gasping for breath. "Did you put vervain in the food?" he asked unbelieving. "Of course not! I wouldn't do that!" Katherine exclaimed upset. They heard a knock and they rotated their heads to the door.

Elena was standing in the doorway. "I set the breakfast table. Are you coming?" she said, looking strongly at Damon. Damon nodded and walked past her. Katherine walked towards Elena.

"It was you" she said slowly. "You've put the vervain in the sandwiches. Why? I know you wouldn't hurt Damon" she paused, realizing something "… You just can't stand it that we're getting close again!"

Elena didn't say anything. Katherine was wrong! Katherine thought Elena was jealous. She wasn't jealous. She just cared for Damon and she didn't want that bitch to break his heart again. That's all that was behind it. Nothing more, she told herself.

* * *

**Part 3**

Jeremy entered Bonnie's house after he had knocked several times. He knew she was home, he had seen shadows. So he walked down the hall and opened the door. "Bonnie? Are you there?" he called out. He looked around in the suspiciously quiet room.

Then he saw Bonnie standing in the corner. He almost hadn't noticed her. "Bonnie? Why are you standing there?" he asked suspicious. Bonnie left her corner and walked towards him. "Why are you here, Jeremy?" she asked.

Jeremy recognized her voice, but there was something in her way of speaking that worried him. "I need to talk to you" he started, not feeling comfortable. "Ever since I came back from the death I see things that aren't there"

"Like what?" Bonnie asked, sounding more curious than concerned. Jeremy pulled his clothes before he answered. "People. Dead people" Bonnie swallowed. She avoided Jeremy's look and scratched her hair. She was nervous. No, agitated.

"There will be consequences" she mumbled to herself. "What?" Jeremy asked. Bonnie still didn't look at him. "When you were dead, I brought you to the witches. I tried to bring you back alive with magic. They said 'There will be consequences'. This must be it" she said sounding terrified.

"Seeing dead people? Why? Is there a purpose? And how can I stop it?" Jeremy asked in one breath. Bonnie grabbed her boyfriend by his shoulders. "You won't do anything. I'm taking care of it" she said sharply.

"But-" "I mean it, Jeremy Gilbert. You let it just happen and I will fix it" she repeated. "Bonnie, your eyes" Jeremy said. Bonnie averted her head.

"What about them?" she asked with a trembling voice. "They're blurry" he said worried. She pointed with her finger at Jeremy. "Go home" The next moment Jeremy was sitting in his bedroom.

* * *

 

**Part 4**

Sheriff Forbes was standing above the corps lying in the shag. A rope was lying loosely around its cervix and he had two small holes in his neck. He was drained from blood. Liz let out a deep sigh and startled as her daughter appeared in front of her.

"Caroline! You're not supposed to be here, this is a crime scene" she said reproachful. Caroline didn't react, but ducked to have a closer look at the corpse. "Vampires" she whispered. Liz nodded. "Yeah, I know" she said.

"Caroline?" No answer. "Caroline" Liz now said a bit harder. Caroline looked up. "Caroline, I need you to be completely honest with me. I won't judge you" Caroline braced herself for she knew what was to come. "Did you do this?" her mother asked.

Her mom was never going to trust her, Caroline thought. "No, mom, I have nothing to do with this" she answered. "And do you have any idea who could've?" Liz continued her interrogation. "Damon, perhaps? Stefan?"

Caroline shook her head. "No" she said. "The only vampires I can think of are Klaus and Katherine, but they are no match for you, mom" she added.

"I'm going to talk to the people that live here. You stay here, I'll be right back" Liz said. Caroline nodded, but as soon as her mother turned around she flashed away.

She braked at the Salvatore Boarding House and knocked.

"You open it" Katherine said bored.

"No freaking way, you open it" Damon said.

"Oh, for God's sake, I'll open it!" Elena said annoyed.

How could two people both older than a century act so childish?, she thought while she walked at the front door. "Caroline?" she exclaimed surprised when she saw her friend in the doorway. "Come in" Elena said and Caroline entered the boarding house.

"I have the strange idea you're not just here for a friendly visit" Elena said while she guided Caroline to the living room, where Damon and Katherine were sitting. "Well, well, if it isn't the little traitor" Katherine said, looking at Caroline.

"Still not over it?" Damon said contemptuously. "Have a seat" he said to Caroline. "There's no room" Katherine said disdainful. "Sure there is" Damon said and he pushed Katherine off the couch. Caroline sank down as Katherine scribbled up. They all ignored her complaints.

"You're right, Elena. I'm here for a reason" Caroline began. "I bet you haven't heard the news yet?" They shook their heads, immediately alerted. "Well, I got it first hand, because of mom"

She paused. "There's a new victim. A vampire victim, I mean. I told my mother I didn't do it, which is true. And I said you nor Stefan would do it" she continued looking at Damon only. "I'm not so sure about that" he said softly.

Caroline frowned. "What are you talking about?" Damon traded a glance with Elena, realizing he would have to do the talking. The Stefan-Klaus issue was too painful for Elena. "You know I got bitten by Tyler while he was transforming?"

Caroline nodded. "Stefan went to Klaus to find a cure. Long story short: he got it, but in return he had to join Klaus. So, I'm not entirely sure whether Stefan has stuck to his bunny diet or that he's given in to his formal ripper actions"

* * *

 

**Part 5**

"So, you're saying Stefan's behind it?" Caroline asked breathless. "I don't know. I hope not, but we can't ignore the possibility that he could've" Damon said being realistic. Elena threw her arms around her knees, looking pale.

"I don't know, Damon" Caroline said. "It didn't look very professional. I mean, when you feed on humans you erase your traces. This vampire didn't. The body was still there and the blood wasn't cleaned up. I don't think this vampire has been for a long time"

Elena looked up with a hopeful expression on her face. "So, there's still a chance Stefan has nothing to do with it. That's good. As long as he doesn't kill anyone, no damage has been done" she said.

Damon shook his head. "What?" Elena asked, a little annoyed. She felt like Damon was going to ruin her renewed hope. "Even if Stefan didn't kill that person, still someone had to turn the vampire that did. There aren't that many vampires left in Mystic Falls" Damon said, trying to put Elena back on the ground.

Elena averted to Katherine. "Maybe she did it" she said, nodding at her vampire look-a-like. Katherine widened her eyes. She walked towards Elena, lifting her hand to slap her, but Damon grabbed her wrist and put himself between Elena and Katherine.

"You're not touching her" he said soft but threatening. He turned at Elena. "You should be careful with your accusations. We need her" "Oh, but you can accuse Stefan?" Elena said upset.

"I'm not accusing him" Damon said. "I just want you to keep your eyes open and not be blinded by your…love for him" "As should you" Elena shot back. "You don't know if you can trust Katherine" "She didn't do it" Damon sighed.

"How would you know?" Elena said disdainful. "Oh, right, I forgot! You have been bonding with her. You're now close friends, so you tell each other everything" Damon frowned his eyebrows and exchanged an uncomprehending look with Katherine.

"Where's this coming from?" he asked slowly. Katherine smirked. "Yeah, I'm dying to hear it" she said. Caroline looked from Elena to Damon and back as if she was watching a tennis game.

Elena swallowed and put her hands on Damon's upper arms. "I don't trust her" she started. "She played with you. She used your love for her. She put you through so much pain, missing her, thinking she was locked up. But she never cared about you. She didn't care you've been hurting for 145 years. She didn't care you wanted to die when you thought she was dead"

Damon took her hands in his and looked her deep in the eye. "I love you for caring about me. I wouldn't know what to do without you. But I could never fall for her all over again, while I'm loving you"

He brought her hands to his lips and kissed her fingers. Elena felt how her heart beat fiercely. It felt like everything around them faded away and they were the only two people on the universe.

"Uhum" Katherine coughed. Damon let go of Elena and they turned around. "You're having an audience"

* * *

 

**Part 6**

"Okay, explain me one thing. How come I can walk into the sun without being burned?"

Amber and Stefan were walking in the woods of Mystic Falls. The moment Amber had fed on Derek the hunger and fear faded and her body was filled with power. She loved the feeling.

"It's because of your bracelet" Stefan answered. Amber looked at the bracelet on her wrist. "My bracelet? What does it have to do with me being able to walk in the sun?"

"There's a spell on it" Stefan explained. "For a vampire to walk into the sun they need something a witch put a spell on so they can walk outside during the day. I compelled your boyfriend to give you the bewitched necklace, because only then you'd have no suspicion"

Amber scratched her hair. "Ehm…did you…compel him to hang himself?" she stammered. Stefan stopped and turned at Amber. "No. Vampires are rarely to trust, but I swear I had no hand in his death"

He walked on. He heard no footsteps behind him and therefore held his steps again. He turned around, seeing Amber standing still. He flashed to her. "What?" "If you didn't do it, then it must've been that other man. The British one?" Amber said.

Stefan nodded. "Klaus. He's dangerous" "Yeah, I figured" Amber said obvious. "I mean, for us, vampires. He's not just a vampire. He's a werewolf as well and a bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire. Which is why I'm here with you in the first place" Stefan said.

"I don't get that" Amber said.

"My brother got bitten by a werewolf. He would've died if I hadn't find a cure, which is Klaus' blood, by the way. But to return the favor I have to stick with him for ten years" Stefan ended.

Amber whistled. "Wow. You must really care for your brother. I mean, by being the hero you've turned into a villain" "I guess you could say that" "Is he cute?" Amber asked like only a teenage girl could. Stefan shook his head confused.

"Your brother, is he cute?" Amber clarified her previous question. "You kind of are and I thought maybe it runs in the family" Stefan sniffed. "Damon's a heartbreaker"

"Ooh, Damon, huh? Heartbreaker, you say? He's had many girls and slept with them, dumped them the day after? Why do you care?" Amber asked.

"Because he's having a crush on my girlfriend and it's serious. He thinks I'm an idiot and that I can't put one and one together. It reassures me, because I know he'd do anything to protect her. But it terrifies me as well, because I don't know if my relationship with Elena is strong enough to survive this" Stefan said depressed.

"And I think that deep inside Damon believes he deserves Elena. Because Katherine chose me over him"

"So, you're saying both times Damon fell in love with a woman she chose you? Well, that would piss me off. It must've broken his heart" Amber said full of compassion. "Who's Katherine?"

"Katherine is the vampire that turned me and Damon and she is Elena's ancestor. Don't freak out when you see both of them, because they look identical. We both loved her, but Damon was the one that was torn up inside for 145 years, because he wasn't with her" Stefan explained.

"145 years? Your brother mourned for 145 years?" Amber asked shocked. Stefan nodded. "He lost his humanity, but he's getting it back…because of Elena" he said.

* * *

 

**Part 7**

Liz was standing in her office, her deputy's surrounding her. She was briefing them about the murder last night. Caroline was standing outside, making sure her mother couldn't see her, and kept her ears wide open.

"The boy's name's Derek Janders. He was Amber Lindy's boyfriend. Amber's the girl that lived there. According to Mrs. Lindy Amber had been acting off earlier that day. She came home, wrecked, like she was sexually assaulted"

"Mrs. Lindy insisted Amber to report this, but Amber became aggressive and violent. She threw Mrs. Lindy on the ground and then basically robbed the fridge, because- and Mrs. Lindy quotes her daughter: 'I'm freaking starving here!' "

"After eating the whole fridge content Amber's still hungry and took it out on Mrs. Lindy, punching her a few times in the face and compelling her to lie about it to Mr. Lindy; later she would tell him she'd ran through a glass door"

"Amber went upstairs to her room and from what Mrs. Lindy could hear she was trashing her room. It started raining and Mrs. Lindy heard her daughter screaming 'Turn off the noise, my head's exploding' A few hours later Mr. Lindy came home. He asked his wife what happened, she told him the glass door story"

"

He went upstairs to see Amber, saw the ruined room, noticed the window was open and Amber missing. This morning we got a call from Mr. Lindy saying his daughter's boyfriend committed suicide in their shag" Liz paused and took a deep breath. "I find it hard to believe, though"

One of her deputy's raised his hand. "Why? We found the letter. He writes about his parents, how their deaths affected him. Friends of him said he was on something. It's not that unexpected"

"Maybe not" Liz replied. "But there are too many factors that exclude suicide. For starters, he gave Amber a bracelet the same morning, so things must have been going quite well between them"

"Second, why would he hang himself in the shag next to the house where Amber lives? The letter says he 'loved her so much'. Killing yourself nearby your girlfriend isn't very love expressing, is it? And last, but certainly not least, why did Amber take off the same night and where is she now?"

Caroline, who had absorbed every little detail into her memory, understood her mother didn't know more and flashed away.

* * *

 

**Part 8**

A few hours later.

Jeremy lied in his bed, his eyes squeezed. He would force himself to sleep. He had been running for hours, helped Alaric with some chores, cleaned up his room, and now he was really tired. Sleeping shouldn't be a problem. He would give in to the night.

The windows swung open, the glass shattered and rained down on the floor. Jeremy raised up and crawled backwards against the head of his bed. He saw a pencil floating in the air, but knew either Vicky or Anna was holding it.

"What, you're going to write 'Don't sleep' on my wall? I have to sleep, I can't fight the fatigue forever" Jeremy yelled. "There was a time you could" Vicky's voice said cold. "I'm not using drugs anymore" Jeremy said. "Not since you left, died"

"Well, maybe you should, Jer. It would save us a lot of trouble if you could keep those pretty eyes of yours open" Vicky said. Now about a dozen pencils were floating in the air. How was that possible? Anna and Vicky both had two hands, so the two of them together could only hold four pencils. How could the other pencils…

As realization hit his brain he gasped and tried to get out of bed. But then the pencils flew his way and pierced themselves into his arms. As he screamed he felt a sudden and invisible weight at the end. He knew someone was crawling on the bed and he was paralyzed by fear.

"You're dead. You can't hurt me" Jeremy said, not very convinced. "Well , that's a good thing" Anna said, who was now visible to Jeremy. "That means this won't hurt you"

She grabbed his hair, put his head down and pierced her fangs in his flesh. Though she couldn't really feed on him and there was no blood, it felt like someone was stabbing knives in his neck.

* * *

 

**Part 9**

Bonnie was still wide awake when she heard someone banging on the door. "Jeremy" she growled as if he was the last person she wanted to see right now. The scene earlier that day made her realize he would come inside anyway and she may as well save him the trouble of breaking in.

"What are you doing here?" she asked short. She didn't see her boyfriend was scared to death or that he was soaked and if she did, she definitely didn't care.

"I know you said you were going to fix this, but can you please hurry up a bit" Jeremy said agitated. He showed the holes in his arms. "They attacked me. Anna, Vicky and I don't know who else, but there were more of them"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "More vampires?" she asked. "More death people" Jeremy said. Why didn't Bonnie invite him in? Why did she act so uncaring? "I can heal that for you" Bonnie said nodding at his arms.

She dragged him inside the house, her grip so tight it actually hurt him. She dragged him into the living room, where he freed himself. "What's wrong with you?" he shouted at her. "Why are you sitting in the dark, why are you wearing so many clothes, and why are you covering your ears right now?"

Bonnie grabbed a tube of ointment from a cupboard in the kitchen. She handed it to Jeremy. "Here, it's a compilation of herbs, it should work within an hour" she said. "Can you now please get lost?"

Jeremy shook his head and grabbed Bonnie by her upper arms. He gasped and let go of her a second later. "Bonnie, you're freezing. What's going on?" he asked deeply concerned.

Bonnie looked him in the eyes and hers looked as cold as her body felt. "Look, Jeremy, the light's off because it's hurting my eyes, I'm wearing so many clothes because I'm freezing. And I'm covering my ears because I'm having a terrible headache and I just can't take your lousy crap right now. So, I repeat, can you get lost?"

"Let me help you" Jeremy begged. "You can't help me. I can only help myself" she said and she grabbed Jeremy again, dragging him to the hallway, throwing him out of the house.

She walked back into the living room and took five candles. She put them in a circle around her and started mumbling a weird Latin-like language.

* * *

 

**Part 10**

As Damon was getting ready to go to bed he heard a knock on his door. He looked up and saw Elena standing in the doorway. "Hey" he said. "What's wrong?" Elena shrugged and shuffled with her feet.

"Come in" Damon said and he waved with his head. Elena accepted his offer and entered his room. She walked slowly to his bed. "I know it's totally inappropriate, but I'm feeling uncomfortable in my bed, all alone… Can I sleep with you? Just sleep?" she kind of begged.

Damon blinked and swallowed. "I don't know, Elena" "Just sleeping, I promise" she said. Damon sighed. "Well, okay then" he said and he slid as far away as possible so their bodies wouldn't contact each other.

Elena climbed into bed, but unlike Damon's expectations she came real close to him and lay her head on his naked chest. Her fingers draw circles around his thorax. Damon gently took her fingers and pushed them away.

"What are you doing, Elena?" he asked, simply knowing it wasn't Katherine. Elena didn't answer, but put herself on top of him. She leaned forward and kissed him passionate on the lips.

Damon tried to push her away; he didn't want this, but then again he did. Elena pushed his hands away and took off her top. She took Damon's hands and lay them on her breasts.

Damon felt how his heart beat raced faster and faster. His whole body shuddered, in a good way and he couldn't fight it anymore. He rolled over so he was now lying on top of Elena and he kissed her.

But Elena wanted more and she moved underneath him. Damon looked down at her body and saw it had changed. It was darker. He looked up and stared in Bonnie's smug face.

Damon woke up. He gasped for breath and looked around him to make sure Bonnie wasn't in the same room. It had seemed so real. He could swear he could still feel her fingers on his chest, his hands on her breasts. He was disgusted. Shower, he needed to shower, even though he believed he would never be able to wash this dirt off of him.

* * *

* * *

 


	3. Twisted & Trapped

**Part 1**

The next morning Bonnie felt a lot better and it looked like the weather was copying her mood. She walked outside to get some fresh air and almost stumbled over Jeremy. "Jeremy?" she exclaimed. Jeremy startled and looked up. He was completely soaked and wrecked. "Oh my God, you sat here all night? Let's get you inside" Bonnie said worried. She sounded like herself again, Jeremy noticed. He got up and followed her inside. "Why didn't you go home, Jeremy?" Bonnie asked, while she was putting some tea.

"I was worried" Jeremy said, shaking from the cold. "You were acting very weird last night. Don't you remember?" He heard how Bonnie took some cups out of the cupboard and placed them on the sink. "Yeah, unfortunately I do" she replied. "And I'm really ashamed of myself. I don't know what got into me. I think this whole seeing dead people thing is stressing me out"

"It's stressing you out?" Jeremy asked. "How about me? I'm the one who sees them" "I know, I know" Bonnie said, while she poured the water in the cups; she'd made it boil faster with magic. "I just think it will bring a lot of stress for us, as a couple" She came into the living room and handed Jeremy his cup. "Drink up, you'll get warm" she said.

"What do you mean, for us as a couple?" Jeremy asked, putting his cup down on the living table. "I think it's better if we stopped seeing each other" Bonnie explained. Jeremy considered it a good thing he'd put the cup on the table, because otherwise he most likely would've dropped it on the floor. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"You heard me, Jeremy" Bonnie said. "I really think it's for the best" "Okay, let's just put aside the fact that I love you and I believed you to love me back. You promised you'd help me. You said you'd fix my whole seeing dead people thing" Jeremy said upset. "I will" Bonnie said with a smile. "But in order for me to succeed I need you to stay away from me as far as possible"

* * *

**Part 2**

"Damon! How long will you be in there? You're almost worse than I am and that's saying something!" Katherine yelled to the bathroom door. Damon had been inside for about half an hour, which was not normal. Okay, Katherine could spend hours in the bathroom, but then again she was a woman. It was some sort of duty to spend a certain amount of time to grow more beautiful. Men, on the other hand, only had to shower and shave, and preferably within five minutes.

The door opened and Damon exited the room, a towel around his waist. Katherine pursed her lips. "I think you forgot some spots" she said teasing. "Let me help you" She jabbed him with her finger, but Damon pushed her aside. "Geez, what's your problem?" Katherine said irritated, but Damon didn't answer. Instead he went straight to his room, where he found Elena sitting on his bed. "Oh, sorry, I should've realized you were…" Elena said feeling awkward. "I have to talk to you, but I can come back when you're dressed"

"Is it important?" Damon asked. "Yes, it's about the murder" Elena said. "Shouldn't we involve Katherine into this?" Damon said. Elena pulled up her shoulders, feeling uneasy. "I want to discuss it with you first" she said. "Right" Damon said. "Can you turn around or close your eyes?" "Sure!" Elena said and she turned around. She heard Damon getting dressed.

"Caroline called me last night. The boy's name's Derek. And he had a girlfriend, Amber Lindy, or something. From what Caroline heard from her mother Amber was in transition the night Derek died. So, most likely she's the one that killed Derek" She heard a zipper and turned around a little bit. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Damon closing the buttons of his shirt. "It's okay, you can turn around again" Damon said and though Elena couldn't see it she heard a smile in his voice.

"Well, that means we have to look for Amber" Damon commented on Elena's news. "I know you don't want me to point a finger at Stefan, but… if he turned her she can lead us to him" Elena nodded and got up from the bed. "You're probably right. I think Caroline can get her file. It shouldn't be too hard" she said and she walked to the door. "Elena?" She turned around again. "I know it's very unusual to ask of me, but you wouldn't happen to have any aspirins on you, do you? Because I'm having a terrible headache"

* * *

 

**Part 3**

Caroline was hanging in the Grill when her phone rang. She let out a deep sigh when she noticed it was her ex-boyfriend Matt. "Hey, Matt" she said. "Caroline, hi, I'm glad I can finally reach you" Matt replied.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked avoiding. It had been two days since she last spoke to him and she had very consciously 'missed' his calls.

"Is something wrong? Are you avoiding me? Because if you do I would understand. I mean, I did break up with you" Matt softly said. "I'm not avoiding you, okay? I'm just hooked into something, I can't explain it" Caroline said hesitating.

"Can't you try? During lunch, maybe? I'd like to talk to you…about us." Matt suggested. "There's no us, Matt. Like you said, we broke up…But girls have to eat, so maybe lunch might be not so bad. Can I call you back on that?" Caroline asked.

"Promise you will" Matt said. "Okay, I promise" Caroline said and she ended the conversation.

"Boyfriend issues, huh?" the girl next to her at the bar said. Caroline turned around to view the clearly underage girl drinking beer. And it wasn't the first one. "You know it's rude to eavesdrop a conversation you're not part of"

The girl drank from her beer. "I wasn't eavesdropping. You really need to lower your voice a bit" "You shouldn't be drinking. You're a minor" Caroline said cold.

The girl laughed. "Okay, yeah, I'm a minor, but that doesn't make you my legal guardian, you know. And don't take your problems with  _Matt_  out on me"

Caroline's mouth dropped open from unbelief. "I'm not taking anything out on anyone. God, why am I even talking to you?" she muttered, more to herself than the girl. She walked away, the girl watching her leave.

* * *

 

**Part 4**

Damon was sitting in the couch, his head in his hands. "Is it still not over?" Elena asked slightly worried. "I gave you two painkillers, it shouldn't hurt no more" Damon looked up and gave her an irritated glance.

"I'm not making this up, if that's what you think" "I didn't say I think you're making this up" Elena defended herself. "I just find it strange… Maybe you need to get a doctor"

"Yeah, let's do that" Katherine scornfully said. She came from out of the kitchen. "Let's go to a nice doctor and have him examine Damon. Surely he wouldn't notice Damon doesn't have a pulse or that his heart doesn't beat and when he needs to fill in a file they wouldn't say anything about his birth date, now would they?"

"Katherine, lay off" Damon softly said. "She means it well" he defended Elena which was rewarded with a little smile of hers. "I know who can help me" he continued. He paused and looked from Katherine to Elena. "Bonnie Bennett"

"Damon, I don't think she'll help you" Elena said being realistic.

Katherine laughed. "I don't think she'll help you? Honestly? She freaking hates him! If she knew Damon was in pain, she would just stand by and enjoy it! So, 'I don't think she'll help you' is quite an understatement"

Elena opened her mouth to get back on her, but Damon interrupted. "So, you're saying I shouldn't go to her" he said. "No" Katherine said. "I think you shouldn't go alone…. I don't trust her, she's a witch"

"I can take care of myself, Katherine" Damon said. "That's my best friend you're talking about" Elena said upset. Katherine rotated her head to her doppelganger. "Your best friend tried to kill him twice" she said with a threatening voice. She slowly stepped towards Elena, who stepped forward in Katherine's direction until they were an inch away from each other.

"You broke his heart twice" she said, looking straight in Katherine's eyes. "You nearly destroyed him and now you're acting all worried and defensive of him, trying to get back in his good books, but guess what, it's not going to work. He will not let you in again, you won't get to break his heart a third time… And by the way, I thought you said it was always Stefan"

Katherine lifted her head a bit and smirked. "I could say the same for you"

* * *

 

**Part 5**

Caroline was standing at the edge of the woods, waiting for Matt. They would meet each other here, to have lunch. She was about to call him, when she saw him coming her way.

"Sorry I'm late" Matt apologized. "I was occupied by this annoying kid who had all sorts of questions about me. I didn't even know who she was"

Caroline pulled a wondering face. "What kind of questions?" she carefully asked. She motioned with her head to the woods and they started walking.

Matt shrugged. "She asked if I believed in monsters. I don't know where it was coming from, she just started talking to me. It was after you called me back to meet. I told her to mind her own business, but she said I should lower my voice"

Caroline widened her eyes. "Oh my God, I know who you're talking about" "Really?" Matt asked slightly surprised. Caroline heavily nodded. "Yes. Brown hair, very curly, shoulder length?" "Yeah" "Green eyes, with a little grey around the irises?" "Hm-hm" "That's her" Caroline said.

"I met her at the Grill, she was eavesdropping my conversation with you when you called me earlier and she told me the exact same thing. That I should lower my voice"

Matt scratched his head, to express his confusion. "Who is she?" "I might have a suspicion" Caroline said. "I just need to get my hands on my mom's files" "Why?" "Because I think she's a vampire" Caroline said. She paused for a minute. "One that can bring us to Stefan"

* * *

 

**Part 6**

"Get me another one of this golden stuff" Alaric said lifting his glass. The bartender, who was cleaning some glasses, shook his head. "I think you've had quite enough" "Oh, come on" Alaric groaned. "I'm the customer here. I'm paying" He got out some money. "What does it cost, I'm paying you double" He threw the money on the bar.

"If you have too much of it, you can always give it to me" a familiar voice said. Alaric looked aside and saw Damon. "You're drinking Bourbon? Without me? Shame on you" He signed with his hand, pointing at Alaric's glass and then at himself.

The bartender got the message and filled two new glasses of bourbon and put them on the bar. "He's your responsibility now" he said. "Yeah, whatever" Damon said. He drank from his glass and saw how Alaric poured the whole content in his mouth at once.

"Are you having a private party? Or is this about Jenna?" Damon asked. Alaric put his glass down and went with his finger around the edge.

"I'm trying to find a difference between Isobel and Jenna. Somehow I always fall for the same type of women. Both beautiful, both turned into vampires, both related to Elena… help me out here, will you?"

"Well, I'm not sure if it helps, but I didn't have sex with Jenna and I didn't turn Jenna" Damon tried to be funny. "Wow, somehow you managed to make this whole thing evolve around you" Alaric said. "Works for me. Why are you here?"

Damon looked in front of him and drank the rest of his bourbon before he answered. "Other than to have some quality time with my best pal? I'm meeting Bonnie here" "Bonnie? Why?" Alaric asked.

"I've been wondering the same since he called"

Damon and Alaric looked up and saw Bonnie. She sank down on the stool next to Damon and looked at him with a piercing glance. “Well, I'm waiting"

Damon sighed. "I need you to do some hocus pocus on me" "Ssh!" Bonnie hissed. "Will you keep it down? We don't want anyone to know what I am" Damon rolled his eyes.

"Why do you need my help? I said I wasn't helping you anymore. The last time was an exception, for Elena. I see no reason to help  _you_ " Bonnie continued.

"Hmm… I need you to help me… so I can help Elena. So, you're really helping Elena" Damon said manipulative. Bonnie pursed her lips and squeezed her eyes. "Wow, even when she's not around you still find a way to use her as a persuasion"

"Is it working?" Damon asked with a smirk. Bonnie lifted up her chin a bit. "Come on, Bonnie, it's nothing dangerous. Worst thing that could happen is that I die and that's something you would only rejoice, right?"

Bonnie took a deep breath. "What do you want me to do?" "Thank you" and he sounded like he meant it. "You have to take my headache away" "Okay" Bonnie said. "This involves some touching, I hope you don't mind"

She lay her hands on his temples and started mumbling. It was a good thing the bartender was in the storage, getting new crates of beer. Damon felt his blood getting warmer and his heart pounding.

He saw a flash of Bonnie kissing him and wanted to pull away when Bonnie let go of him. "Feeling better now?" she asked. Damon concentrated and looked around. He didn't feel any pain. "It's gone" he said. He looked at Bonnie. "Thank you"

They heard a enormous thud and looked aside. Alaric had fallen off his stool. "We got this" Damon said to the bartender, who came out of the storage.

* * *

  **Part 7**

Elena was in the kitchen, making dinner, when Jeremy sat down on a chair, his head supporting on his hands. "What's wrong?" Elena asked. Jeremy looked up so Elena noticed the eye bags.

"What happened to you? You look like a mess. When's the last time you had a good sleep?" Jeremy laughed scornful. "It's been a while" "Is it because of Jenna?" Elena asked compassionate.

Jeremy played with his fingers while he thought of a good reason. He knew Elena would want to know what was going on, but he didn't want her to get involved in his mess. He believed she had enough going on with Stefan being gone and Jenna… So he told her part of the truth.

"Bonnie broke up with me" he sighed. Elena's face stiffened. "What?" "She said it was better if we stopped seeing each other… She's been acting weird lately" Jeremy told. "Weird, how?" Elena asked carefully.

"She looked sick and I wanted to help her, but she became really aggressive. She wasn't being herself" "Damon's with her right now" Elena said, with an undertone of hysteria. "She can hurt him. I have to go to him" She wanted to grab the keys, but Jeremy took her hand.

"Elena, just call him. If you think Bonnie's going to do something to him you can warn him over the phone" Elena heavily nodded and took her phone. She dialed Damon's number and waited impatiently.

"Damon's phone" she heard a tuneful voice saying. "Bonnie?" Elena said with a trembling voice. "Can I speak to Damon?" "Sure" Bonnie said cheerfully. A few seconds passed by while Bonnie handed Damon his phone.

"Elena, what's wrong?" "Ehm, is everything okay with you?" "Yeah, never better" "And the headache, is it gone?" "No trace left of it, thanks to our amazing Bonnie" Elena squeezed her phone.

"Oh, well, okay then… Just so you know, I'm not staying in the Boarding House tonight. I'm sleeping at home" "Fine by me. Have a nice evening, Elena" Damon said and he hung up.

Elena stood still with her phone in her hands. She had expected Damon to be disappointed by hearing she wouldn't be close to him tonight and knowing he wasn't, disappointed her.

He was with Bonnie. His headache was over, why would he want to stay around her longer than necessary? And from what she could hear during their conversation they were having a good time.

She squeezed her eyes and pressed her lips together. "Elena? Is everything all right?" Jeremy asked when Elena smashed her phone on the table. "Sure. Everything's perfectly fine" she said with a forced smile.

* * *

 

**Part 8**

Katherine stared at the door, her arms crossed, while she waited for Damon to open the door and enter the house. She heard the key while she was in the living room and flashed at the front door. It went open and Damon got in.

"Well it's about time you show up" Katherine said reproachful. "Sorry, I didn't know I had to explain myself to you" Damon said. He walked further into the house and stretched.

"I was worried" Katherine said, following him. "She could've done something to you" Damon turned around. "She did. She healed me, took the pain away. I owe her"

"Are you hearing what you're saying?" Katherine asked suspicious. "Yeah, I do, Katherine" Damon said annoyed. "Bonnie's not the worst person in the world, you know… You should really give her a chance"

Katherine shook her head in disbelief. "I can't listen to this" and she went upstairs, when Damon took his phone and dialed a number. He sat on the table in Indian style while he waited.

"Bonnie Bennett" "Bonnie, hi, it's me, Damon" Damon said. "Oh, hi" "I know we just saw each other at the Grill, but I wanted to tell you that I had a really good time" Damon said with a dreamy gleam in his eyes.

"Oh, well, I enjoyed it too" Bonnie said. "And I keep thinking about you, so I wondered if I could come over?" Damon asked. "Come over? As in now?" Bonnie asked surprised.

"Well, yeah, that's the intention" Damon laughed. "Ehm, yeah, sure" Bonnie answered. Damon hung up his phone, an ecstatic expression on his face.

"What was that all about?" a cold voice asked. Damon looked behind him. Katherine was back downstairs and it was obvious she had heard every word of the call. "You're meeting the witch again, after you just saw her. Damon, what is wrong with you?"

Damon got off the table. "Nothing's wrong with me. I've never felt better in my entire life and after that"

"Why do you want to go to her? Why do you want to go and see the witch again?"

"Don't call her the witch, okay? Her name is Bonnie" Damon said angry. "She has beautiful eyes and hair and her voice sounds so tuneful… I think I'm falling for her"

Katherine slapped him in the face. He looked at her with a shocked expression. "I'm sorry, but somehow I had to get whatever that's gotten into you out of you and this seemed to be the best way"

"Katherine" Damon said, trying to keep his cool. "Punching me isn't going to change my feelings for Bonnie. Now, I'm going to leave this house and go to Bonnie's place and you can't stop me"

He ran to the door and was nearly gone when Katherine said: "What about Elena?" "What about her?" Damon asked irritated. "I thought you loved her. And you and I both know you don't just fall for someone else all of a sudden" Katherine said.

Damon shrugged. "Why would I waste my time on someone who clearly doesn't want me, while there's a perfect girl out there waiting for me?" And that being said he walked outside and shut the door, leaving Katherine shocked. This could not be happening.

* * *

 

**Part 9**

Caroline was in her mom's study room she used to do some paperwork, searching Amber Lindy's file. After what Matt told her it was easy to put the pieces together.

A girl she had never seen before and who could hear everything? A girl who could drink without having to show her id? It was close to obvious who this chick was, but Caroline wanted proof before she informed Damon and Elena… and Katherine.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline turned around. Her mother was in the doorway, an austerely expression on her face. "Nothing" Caroline said fast, too fast. She raced to her mom and pierced her glance into her mom's eyes.

"Where is Amber Lindy's file?" she softly said. Liz walked around Caroline to her desk and went through the papers. "Here" she gave the file to Caroline. "Thanks, mom, you can go now"

Liz left the room and Caroline looked at the first page which contained a photo. "I knew it" She took the phone on her mother's desk and dialed Damon's number. But Damon didn't pick up his phone, so she tried Elena.

"Caroline?" Elena asked, knowing something was on. Caroline would never call this time of day if there was no good reason for it. "You're never going to guess who I met today" Caroline started excited.

"Who?" Elena asked. "Amber Lindy" Caroline continued. "I met her at the Grill after she eavesdropped my phone call. I didn't want to tell you before I had proof and now I have it. I have her file here, so-"

She gasped and dropped the phone. "Caroline?" Elena asked startled. A cold hand covered Caroline's mouth while the other hand enclosed her throat. "Caroline, what's going on?" Elena said panicking.

"Ssssh" Stefan said. "You know what to do" he said to someone Caroline couldn't see. He pushed Caroline to the window and jumped with her.

Amber conjured a match box and struck a match, throwing him in the papers on the desk. She made sure her file was destroyed before she followed Stefan.

* * *

 

**Part 10**

 

Damon raised his fist to knock the door, but before he could, it was already opened. Bonnie greeted him with a big smile. "Damon" she said breathless. "Come in" and she step aside to let him pass.

He walked straight ahead and entered the living room. His glance fell on the numerous amount of tea lights and he whistled. "Are you trying to save energy?" he asked.

Bonnie went standing in front of him and stroke his chest with her finger. "I thought I should create some… sphere" She brought her lips to his, but before they came in contact with each other Bonnie pulled away.

"Not so fast" she said teasing. Damon swallowed. Bonnie was right. She deserved to be cared for, not to be taken and dumped like trash. He would give her everything she wanted, she needed, if given the chance.

She motioned at the table. "You want to have a drink?" she said. Damon nodded. Bonnie went away and came back with a bottle of red wine. "I hope you drink this?" "I would drink anything you offer" Damon said and accepted the glass of wine.

"I think we need to sort some things out" Bonnie said while she sat down. Damon put the glass down and curiously stared at her. "We haven't been good friends, really, but maybe we could start with a clean slate?"

Damon nodded. "Yeah, absolutely" he agreed. "I mean, you've been doing some very nasty things, but I can try to leave that in the past" Bonnie continued.

"You're awesome, Bonnie" Damon sighed. "How can I ever thank you?" He stared at her face. Why had he not seen how beautiful she was before? He wanted to touch her, kiss her, make love with her. But he could never imagine someone as perfect as Bonnie would want to get involved with someone useless such as himself.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to put on something more comfy" Bonnie said with a wink and she left the room. Damon stood up and looked around. It was a beautiful house, just like Bonnie was, he thought dreamy.

He walked to the bookcase. It was open and one book lay on top of the others. Damon pulled it out. There was a pink piece of paper to mark the page and Damon opened it. As his eyes read the words he felt his hands getting sweaty.

His heart started beating fast and he panted. He looked up, to see where Bonnie was, but she was still changing her outfit. He had to get out of here, right now. He quickly walked to the front door, when he grabbed his head and fell down on his knees.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhh!" he screamed. The headache was back. He looked up and saw Bonnie standing above him. She was wearing the same clothes, but the friendly attitude was gone.

"You found the book" she concluded. "That's good. I intended you to find it, that's why I marked it" Damon crawled forward and almost reached the front door.

Bonnie stuck out her left hand aside of her body, she pulled her arm back and sent the fire in the living room to the front door. Damon crawled back again. "I wanted you to know what I'm going to do with you" Bonnie said sinister.

Damon widened his eyes and panted. "Why?" he asked scared while his head felt like it would explode.

"Because I wanted you to know how it feels when you know something awful will happen to you and you know it's just a matter of seconds. You want to escape, but there's nowhere to turn, and whatever's after you is coming closer and closer, until it catches up with you and rips you apart… I bet that's exactly how your victims feel" Bonnie said icy.

She bent down on her knees and lay her hands on his temples, mumbling again, while Damon screamed.

When she pulled her hands away, Damon fell down unconscious, and the clock struck midnight.

* * *

 


	4. Behind the Surface

**Part 1**

One week later

A corrosive, burning pain spread across Caroline's face and with a shriek she woke up. She wanted to wipe the vervain of her face, but her hands were tied. She was sitting in some kind of room. There was a bed and a desk. There were curtains and a carpet. You couldn't say Klaus was no good host. But despite the nice room, Caroline would love to get out of it, after spending a week in it. A hand holding a napkin stretched to her face and cleaned it.

"I'm sorry I had to do that" Caroline opened her eyes and looked at the girl. "Yeah, I bet you're sorry" Caroline snapped. These ropes were getting painful. At least they didn't let her starve, she received her share of blood every day, though it wasn't much. "Why won't you let me go? What's in there for you?" Caroline asked.

Amber continued rubbing the vervain of Caroline's face. "It's not that easy. Klaus frightens me. And I have nowhere to turn. I can't go back home. My parents would never understand. They would hate me, despise me, send me away. But Stefan has been really helpful. He's told me all about vampires, why we can walk in the sun, that we should be careful for werewolves. If I run away it would be very ungrateful"

"Stefan's the one that turned you" Caroline concluded. It was quite obvious. Amber nodded. "Well, if you can't let me go, can you at least tell me what Klaus has in store for me?" Caroline asked. Amber shook her head and looked down. "I don't know anything. I just do what they ask me to…And for your information, you're not the only one here"

Caroline's eyes widened. "You mean there are others? There are other vampires being held prison? Where are they? Are they in other rooms? Where are we exactly?" "I think that's enough questions for today, Caroline" a calm voice said. Stefan had snuck up on them and looked rather angry. "Amber, why don't you go check on the others?" he said with a fierce glance at Caroline. "I already did, they are fine" Amber said, not realizing Stefan wanted her gone. "Then check again" he said expressing.

"Okay, I can take a hint" Amber said, getting up. "Be a nice boy, Stefan, Klaus needs her to be in one piece" she said with a wink before taking off.

"Caroline, how are you?" Stefan asked. "Don't pretend to care" Caroline said bitter. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, I was busy " Stefan said. "With what? Playing Jack the Ripper?" Caroline snapped. "I understand your hatred, but you have to understand that I have to keep my part of the bargain. I had to make offers for Damon's life" Stefan said. "So, what, I have to praise you because you've given up your life so Damon get to live his? Wow, Stefan, applause, but whatever offers you have to make I refuse to be one of them" Caroline said angry.

"You have no choice. Just like I have no choice" Stefan said. "Now I have to ask you something and I need you to be honest. Whatever the answer is I won't take it out on you" Caroline averted her head, refusing to look at Stefan. "How's Elena? Is she missing me? And Damon, is he still crushing on her? Is Elena falling for him?" he asked, sounding worried.

Caroline's face had a disdainful expression when she answered. "Seriously? You've become exactly what you've tried to avoid for 145 years, you're on the loose as a ripper and your biggest concern is whether your girlfriend and your brother are hooking up with each other?" "Please, Caroline, I need to know" Stefan said and he lay a hand on her arm.

"They're not involved with each other" Caroline said. Stefan let out a relieved sigh. "But they are bonding. Seriously bonding" Stefan averted his head, his eyes turned red and he growled. He gave up everything to save his brother. The least Damon could do is leave Elena alone. He understood they would try to save him and that involved seeing each other and talking, but it could go without falling for each other.

If Damon had the slightest respect for Stefan, he wouldn't try to seduce Elena. And if Elena loved him just a little bit, she wouldn't give in to her feelings for Damon, if she had them. "Amber! I need you to do something for me!"

* * *

 

**Part 2**

It was cold and dark and dusty. The air smelled humid and the ground was rough. The scent of fresh blood filled the unfamiliar place and penetrated in Damon's nose. His eyes flew open and he sniffed the scent.

He averted his head to a point in front of him. He looked down. Right by the entrance there was a bag of blood. Damon jumped for it, but was forcefully thrown back against the wall. He looked up and saw his arms where chained. "You have to be kidding me" he weakly mumbled. He pulled with all his strength, but the chains were too strong.

"I'm afraid there's no use in doing that"

Damon looked at Bonnie who was standing outside of…wherever he was. She held a flashlight and pointed it at Damon, who covered his eyes. "Where am I?" he asked.

Bonnie let the flashlight go around the place. It was some underground cell, where only rats and other vermin would come. "I call it your home. It's precisely where you belong" she said with a disgusted look at Damon.

"How long?" he asked. Bonnie pulled up her nose. "A week… This place smells funny… but someone like you should get used to it in no time"

Damon crawled backwards and leaned against the rough wall. "Why didn't I wake earlier?" he asked. Bonnie pursed her lips and smirked. "Because I didn't want you to. I needed you to stay asleep" she said.

"Why? And don't you have anything to eat? I'm starving" Damon moaned. Bonnie opened the cell and stepped in. "Don't even for a second think you can take me down. You're too weak and I'm too strong" she said, before throwing a rat at him.

Then she stepped backwards and shut the cell again. "That's it?" Damon asked resentful. "You won't let me feed for a week and then all I get is this?"

Bonnie put up a vicious smile. "You really have to show some gratitude, Damon. I can try to talk with you to get you some manners, but I don't want to go the old fashion way" she said with a friendly tone, but a sinister glance in her eyes.

She held her hand behind her back and the next moment it was holding a bowl with cereals and milk, and a spoon. She sank down in Indian style and looked at Damon. "You have to eat, Damon" she said serious. "It's not nice to let a lady eat alone"

"Well, good thing you're not a lady, then" Damon spit out. He groaned when he felt something cutting the left side of his face. Bonnie waved with her finger. "Ah ah ah, be nice, Damon. Now, eat!" she commanded.

Damon stared at the dead rat at his feet and reluctantly picked it up. He brought it to his mouth. Bonnie, who was about to have another bite of her cereals, put down her spoon and stared at Damon, her eyes expectantly bulging.

Damon bit of the head and squeezed out the blood. Unfortunately other things came with the blood. Damon spit them out and threw the rat away, or what was left of it.

"Damn it, if only I had a camera" Bonnie said. Damon wiped his mouth and panted. "You're crazy. You're completely, over the top crazy. If you hate me that much why don't you just drive a stake through my heart?" he said upset.

"I can't do that" Bonnie said, acting shocked. "What would Elena say? She would never forgive me" "You think she's going to forgive you this?" Damon said sarcastic.

"Oh, well, I'm not going to tell her and I'm pretty sure you won't either" Bonnie said with a twinkling in her eyes. "Or else I would have to hurt you"

"Why haven't they come looking for me?" Damon groaned.

"Why would they? You're my boyfriend now and you love to be with me" Bonnie said. She sounded like she almost believed it. "Well, enough with the talking and the feeding. It's time to meet the rest of the world as a couple"

She opened the cell and walked towards Damon. She mumbled some words and the chains were loose. Damon rubbed his wrists. "Come on, sweetheart, get out. We've got things to do" Bonnie said.

Damon got on his feet with a lot of effort and staggered to the entrance of the cell. Bonnie followed him. "We're going to your house to get your stuff" she said when she stood next to him. "Why would you want to stay with that vampire bitch if you can be with me, right?"

Damon laughed scornful. "I can come up with some good reasons" he said disdainful. Another cut was Bonnies answer, next to the first one.

Bonnie groaned. "I have to stop doing this. Look at your pretty face, it's totally maimed. You shouldn't provoke me like that, Damon" she said reproachful. "Now, come on, we have to get going"

She hooked her arm into Damons and smiled at him. "Oh, just so you know, you better be careful with knifes, scissors and any other sharp object. I put an anti-healing spell on you"

* * *

 

**Part 3**

A large bag of chips, a two liter bottle of cola and a television. More did one not need to get over a heartbreak, right? Jeremy let himself fall in the couch and grabbed the remote controller. He pushed a button and the Simpsons came on. Homer Simpson was strangling Bart Simpson.

"Ha, don't you just love a classic?" Jeremy looked aside and saw Anna lying next to him, her feet comfortably on the coffee table. She put her hand in the bag and took some chips. "I hope you don't mind. Paprika are my favorite" she said and she put the chips in her mouth.

"Is this your new strategy? Acting homy instead of freaking me out?" Anna shrugged. "It was getting kind of old" she said. She took the bottle, opened it and drank from it. "I can't speak for Vicky, though. Girl's a bit… not completely sane"

"She's not crazy!" Jeremy defended his death girlfriend. "She's just…really troubled"

"Jeremy, who are you talking to?"

Elena entered the living room and worriedly looked at her brother.

"No one" Jeremy quickly said, his head turning red. "The television" Elena looked at the TV. "Since when do you watch The Simpsons? You hate it" she said frowning. "Yeah, so does Bonnie" Jeremy explained.

"Oh, I get it" Elena said understanding. She sank down next to him, Jeremy looked at the spot she sat on. "What? Am I sitting on something?" Elena quickly asked. Jeremy shook his head. "No, no. All's clear" he said distracted.

Elena lay her hand on his thy. "If it helps, I don't get it either" she said. "Damon and Bonnie?" she asked unbelieving, more to herself than Jeremy. "Bonnie and Damon?" Jeremy said, just as unbelieving as Elena. "What does she see in him?" "What does  _he_  see in _her_?" Elena fired back.

Jeremy averted his head so fast he nearly snapped his own neck. He angry looked at his sister. "Bonnie is a great girl! She can have anyone!" he defended his ex-girlfriend. "Why do you care anyway? You're with Stefan, remember?"

Elena felt her cheeks warm up and she focused on a stain on the coffee table. "This isn't about Stefan" she said, not very convincing. "She dumped you. She hurt my little brother. I'm supposed to bitch about her"

Jeremy raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure it's just about that? Like, you haven't been to the Salvatore house since last week, when you checked on Damon. I thought you were working on something?"

Elena shrugged. "I've been thinking about it and it seems best if I just leave it to the police. I mean, it's their job" she said bored. Jeremy nodded.

"Jeremy, can you please tell your sister to get off my lap?" Anna asked. Jeremy's face stiffened. "What's wrong?" Elena asked. "Nothing" Jeremy said, forcing a smile.

* * *

 

**Part 4**

Bonnie and Damon were walking down the path leading to the front door of the Salvatore Boarding House. Bonnie ironed her shirt with her hands.

"Listen, Damon, it took me a lot of work to make everyone satisfied with the situation. It wouldn't do much good if you start spouting out the wrong things, you know what I mean? And Katherine doesn't like me that much" she said.

Damon looked at the sky. "Now, why would that be?" he said sarcastic. Bonnie knocked and five seconds later the door was opened by Katherine. She flew in Damon's arms. Bonnie pursed her lips and tapped her arm.

"That's my boyfriend you're clinging on" Katherine ignored Bonnie and let go of Damon. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you" She dragged Damon inside and shut the door right in Bonnies face.

She dragged Damon further into the house and pushed him against the wall. "Okay, we're alone. The witch isn't here, so you can talk freely. What's going on? And don't say there's nothing going on, because I know that's not true"

Damon stared at the door.

"She can't hear you, Damon. Only vampires have that ability. What did she do to you? Did she hit you with a baseball bat? I tried to call you, but she had your phone and she said you didn't want to talk to me, because of our fight. How did she know about our fight? Did you tell her?" she asked insisting.

Damon touched his head and groaned soft. "I didn't tell her a damn thing" he eventually said. "She just found out… How's Elena?" he asked. Right after he asked that another neurological pain tortured his brain, but he clenched his teeth.  _Someone_  didn't like him asking about Elena.

"Good thing you're asking" Katherine said deadly serious. "She hasn't been here since you got the hots for Bonnie. She called me to tell me she would live in her house again and that I shouldn't be worried. Why would I worry about her and why would she care?"

Damon frowned his eyebrows, because he was hurting and because he was confused. "Bonnie" he mumbled. Katherine nodded.

"She must've done something with her mind, like compulsion, but witches can't compel anyone. They don't have that power" she said frustrated. "Bonnie is capable of more than you and I can imagine" Damon said.

Another attack on his brain. This time Katherine saw how Damon closed his eyes and deeply breathed. "Hey, are you all right?" "Katherine, I need blood" he said. He looked like he could faint any second, so Katherine nodded. "Okay, just… stay here, alright? Don't go anywhere and don't open the door" She raced away.

"Damon, I thought we agreed on something"

Damon groaned and looked aside. Somehow Bonnie had found her way in. Not that it surprised him.

"You can put that away, Katherine" she said when Katherine came back with four blood bags. "Damon doesn't want to drink human blood anymore. He knows I don't like it and he loves me, don't you, Damon?"

"Till death do us part" Damon answered bitter. A vicious smile appeared on Bonnies face. "Why don't you go upstairs and pack your bags, sweetie? I'll wait here and have a little chat with your friend" Damon reluctantly did what Bonnie asked him to.

"He's a sweetheart, really, but there's still so much he needs to learn. It's like I have to raise him all over again. Well, I guess I can't turn him into a Bram Stoker's Dracula"

Katherine grabbed her by her throat and forced her against the wall. "I don't know what game you're playing, but you're not going to win it. You might have Damon under control and you can do some mojo on Elena, but you don't fool me that easy. I can rip your head off right now" she growled.

"Why don't you?" Bonnie said. "I dare you" Though she wanted to with every fiber in her body, Katherine knew she couldn't kill the witch. They needed her.

"Katherine, let go of her" Damon said as he joined them with his bags. Katherine let go of Bonnie. "Are you seriously moving in with her?" she asked with a shot at the bags. Damon nodded. "She's my girlfriend" he said, like he had to throw up.

"Damon, you don't have to listen to her" Katherine insisted. "Yes, I do, Katherine" Damon said. He lifted up his bags and walked to the front door. "But-" "Leave it, Katherine!" Damon snapped.

He walked outside. Bonnie gave Katherine one last smug smile and waved. "Bye" before she followed Damon outside. Katherine flashed to the door and slammed it.

* * *

 

**Part 5**

The door slammed open and Katherine sped to the living room where Jeremy and Elena were still watching television. Katherine panted and they turned around.

"Seriously? Stefan's gone, Damon's being controlled by Bonnie and you are watching television?" she exclaimed upset.

Elena pointed at the television screen. "This is a very educative documentary, Katherine. It's about-"

"I don't give a damn about what it is!" Katherine screamed. She flashed in front of Elena. "I don't know what Bonnie did to you, but I need you to snap out of it, as in right now!"

Elena sighed and put her hands on Katherines shoulders. "Katherine, you seem to be a little tensed. I think you need to relax a bit. Shall I put on something else, something funny perhaps? Do you like Southpark? I don't really like it, but people say it's funny. Let me see if it's on" she ranted in an extremely, not appropriate for the situation cheery tone.

She took the remote controller to change channels, but Katherine grabbed it out of her hands and smashed it into the wall.

"Elena! Listen to me! Damon. Is. In. Danger. Bonnie has him under control, she hurts him. I know you love Stefan more than Damon, I do too, but I know you would never want your best friend to do that to him. So can you please, please, come with me so we can think of a plan? And if you don't want to do it for Damon, then do it for Stefan. We'll never be able to save Stefan without Damon" she said emotional.

Elena held her head diagonally and frowned her eyebrows a bit. "Hmm, I'm sensing some developing feelings for Damon from your side, Katherine. Is there something you want to tell us?" she said with the expression of a teenage girl trying to get the best gossip stories.

"I am not in love with Damon, okay?" Katherine said annoyed. "But I know someone who claims not to feel anything for him, yet I know when something bad happened to him, she'd be devastated"

Elena's eyes grew big. "Really? Who is it? Is it someone I know?" Katherine moaned of frustration.

"Hey, can you chicks shut up? I'm trying to watch this" Jeremy said annoyed.

* * *

 

**Part 6**

"What do you mean, couple?"

Amber was back from her mission. Stefan had asked her to keep a distant eye on Elena and Damon and now she was bringing information.

"As in couple couple. Damon and Bonnie are a couple. I heard Bonnie say 'That's my boyfriend you're clinging on' and 'Damon loves me' and he said 'Till death do us part'. Though he didn't sound very happy" Amber said.

Stefan shook his head, confused. "But I thought Bonnie was seeing Jeremy. Did they break up?" he asked surprised. They seemed to be a solid couple.

"Well, I suppose" Amber chuckled. She drank from a blood bag. "Or else she wouldn't hook up with Damon. By the way, you never told me he was that hot" she said with a sparkling in her eyes. She gave the blood bag to Stefan. He drank from it.

"I just don't understand. They hate each other. They tried to kill each other. Why would they all of a sudden fall for each other?"

Amber shrugged. "Maybe Bonnie needed a challenge in her life" Stefan raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, because being a witch and living in a place that's like a halting-place for every vampire isn't challenging at all" he said sarcastic.

"Just trying to think of any possibilities" Amber defended herself and she had another gulp of blood. "Maybe all this hating was just passion underneath. You know there's only a thin line between hate and passion" she suggested.

Stefan shook his head. "Amber, Damon fed Elena his blood, because he thought that was the only way to save her from the sacrifice. It was so wrong, I hated him for it, because he didn't care for what Elena wanted, but it says quite a lot about how he feels. And he didn't care if Bonnie died in the process as long as Elena was saved" he said.

"Hmm" Amber said. "Okay, you convinced me. This is not right. So, what' s the plan?"

Stefan stared in the distance. He knew what Amber was talking about, but what could they do? If Damon was using Bonnie for her magic, how would he be able to stop him? Because that's the only reason why his brother would be nice to a witch. For her powers.

"We have to go back" he eventually said.

"Back to Mystic Falls?" Amber said excited.

"Yes, but don't talk so loud, there are ears everywhere" Stefan whispered.

* * *

 

**Part 7**

Bonnie pushed Damon over the porch into her house. He walked ahead to the kitchen, Bonnie behind him. He turned around and saw the furious expression on her face.

In other circumstances he would've made a sarcastic comment, but the way things were now, Damon knew the best thing was to keep his mouth shut.

"I thought we had an agreement" she said slowly and threatening while she came closer to Damon. "You wouldn't drink any human blood" she continued.

Damon frowned his eyebrows frustrated. "You said that, I never said I agreed" Bonnie widened her eyes and Damon wouldn't have been surprised if there would be steam coming out of her nose and ears.

"You wouldn't talk about me. You wouldn't talk about Elena" Damon gnashed his teeth. Did Bonnie really expect him not to ask about the woman he loved? Apparently she did. She grabbed his arm and dragged him to his prison.

She pushed him back in his caged and his hands were automatically chained. Why couldn't he just attack her? He wouldn't kill her, just bite her so he could escape. But as he considered this, he realized it had nothing to do with physical strength. Bonnies power over him had nothing to do with muscles or speed.

She sat down in Indian style. "You have been a very bad boy, Damon, disobeying me like that" "I'm sorry" he mumbled, though he didn't mean a word of it. "Shut up" Bonnie commanded. "I believe bad boys should be punished" she finished with an extremely evil smile on her face.

Damon swallowed, fearing whatever was coming. But Bonnie just sat there. She wasn't mumbling anything, she wasn't motioning with her hands. He braced himself, yet nothing happened.

Then, as if someone had tied an invisible thread around his arm, he lifted up his left hand. His fingers enclosed his right index finger. He realized what was going on and he tried to let go, but his grip was too tight.

As he struggled to separate his two hands, he forcedly pulled and turned his finger until he heard a crack and blood streamed on his hand. Damon screamed, gasped and heavily breathed.

His face was white and he sweated. He felt how he sank deeper into unconsciousness. As his eyes slowly closed he saw Bonnie standing up, that evil smile still on her face.

* * *

 

**Part 8**

Katherine slammed the door and leaned against it. She had not signed up for this mess. They had to find Stefan, but instead Elena was living in Rainbow Land, Damon was in control of the bitch. And Caroline was with her father.

At least that's what Sherrif Forbes told Elena. Katherine found it rather suspicious. It was too sudden. Caroline was helping them and now she stepped out of it, just like Elena. Did Carolines physical absence relate to Elena's mental absence and did Bonnie have a hand in both cases?

For the first time in a very long time Katherine wished she was human. There was no way she could start anything against Bonnie being a vampire. She couldn't even get into her house. That's what she needed Elena for.

But unfortunately Elena was not of any use at the moment and of course she had precious Bonnie to thank for that. She walked further into the house and then stopped.

How could she be so stupid? She looked like Elena! She could use her resemblance to enter Bonnies house and get Damon out. He could say whatever he wanted, Katherine knew he didn't want to be there.

Katherine twisted a strand of hair around her finger. "Why doesn't Elena have wavy hair instead of straight?" she mumbled. She went to the bathroom to get the hair tongs, to straighten her hair.

This would take a while, but it would be worth it. She would get Damon out, kill the witch, and bring Elena back from the clouds. And then they could all save Stefan.

* * *

 

**Part 9**

Stefan and Amber were standing in a corner, whispering, when they were interrupted by a woman. "What are you two chatting about?" she asked suspicious.

Stefan rotated his head to the woman. "I can't remember Klaus put you in charge, so until he does I'm not going to explain myself to you" he said calm, but sharp.

The woman straightened her back. "Klaus told me to get you. He's gathering all vampires, well, not the hostages of course. They're not reliable enough yet. They would try to escape. So, are you coming?"

Stefan and Amber traded glances. "Sure" They followed the woman outside to the lawn.

Klaus was surrounded by his followers. As Stefan and Amber entered the circle, he started speaking. "Well, now that we're finally complete… we can get started" he said with a hoarse yet clear voice.

"We're going on a hunt" Cheering all around. "Feed, but don't kill. And bring your victims here. The killing will be a job for our guests to do" he continued, referring to the imprisoned vampires. "You're going West"

"You're not coming with us?" Stefan asked. "No, Stefan, I am not" He looked at Amber. "And neither is your little friend" Amber frowned. "What? Why? I want to come, I can do it. I know I can" she insisted.

Klaus cut off her complains with a movement of his hand. "Enough" he said. He walked towards her and took her arm. He commanded the others to hunt and as they ran off he guided Amber back inside the hotel building they were staying in.

"I have something to discuss with you" he started. Amber, too afraid to respond, only stared at him. "I have seen your closeness with Mr. Salvatore and I couldn't help but wonder if there is something going on between the two of you. I can't have romances in my circle of allies, you see" Klaus explained.

Amber heavily shook her head. "No, no, nothing is going on" she desperately said. "We're not having an affair or something. We're just friends. We talk"

Klaus raised his eyebrows and a smirk appeared on his face. "Good friends, I assume. The kind that would help each other out, make plans to escape? Tell me, Amber" he said looking her straight in the eye, "have you and Mr. Salvatore been making plans to escape?"

* * *

 

**Part 10**

She knocked three times, then waited for Bonnie to open the door. It was pretty cold outside, so she hoped her plan would work. Five minutes later, what took her so long?, the door went open and Bonnie appeared on the doorstep.

She lifted up her chin and looked down on Katherine. "What?" she said short. Katherine forced a smile, which was hard enough, knowing Damon was inside there against his will.

"Hi, Bonnie, I'm sorry to bother you this late, but I need to talk to you" she said, trying to sound cheery. After all, Elena was in a cheery mood, so Katherine had to be too.

"Really? What about? And can't it wait till tomorrow? I'm kind of tired" Bonnie said cold. Katherine widened her eyes, which made her look a little insane. "No! It's very important. Can I please come in?" she asked insisting.

Bonnie shrugged, smiled and step aside. She waved with her hand as to invite her in. Katherine's smile vanished and she swallowed.

"Is there a problem?" Bonnie asked. "Katherine?" Katherine looked at Bonnie. She knew, of course she knew. Elena would've just entered the house, not reluctantly stay outside.

"How stupid do you think I am? You think I can't tell the difference between my best friend and a murderer? Think again" Bonnie snapped. "Now get the hell out of here! Before I make you!"

Katherine grabbed Bonnies throat and pulled her out of the house. "I may not be able to get into your house, you can get out of it!"

She grabbed her hair and forced her head sideward. She opened her mouth and bit Bonnie. Bonnie screamed. "Daaaaammmmooooonn!"

Damon appeared outside and after first being confused of what he saw, he pulled Katherine away from Bonnie. "Don't" was all he said.

Katherine ignored him and wanted to attack Bonnie again. But Damon put himself between the two women. "Bonnie, get inside" "Since when do you give orders?" Bonnie asked arrogant. "Just do it" Damon snapped without even turning around at her.

Bonnie swallowed her critics and obeyed Damon. Katherine watched Bonnie going inside, staying in the shadows. "Come with me" her lips formed. Damon shook his head. "You can't stay here, you have to get out" Katherine hissed.

Damon looked behind him, then back front, despair on his face. "I want to get out, but I can't. I have to stay" "No, you don't understand" Katherine said. "Elena needs you. Bonnie has put a spell on her. She's acting all happy"

"What?" Damon asked worried and shocked. So that's why she didn't look for me, he thought, she has no idea what's going on. She really thinks I'm with Bonnie.

He leaned forward and whispered in Katherine's ear: "Tell Elena that I love her and I will get her back" Katherine promised she would deliver the message. "Now go" Damon said.

Katherine reluctantly stepped backwards, not wanting to leave Damon here. "Go!" Damon insisted. Katherine startled and ran off. Damon turned around and entered the house.

"Bonnie! I think you have some explaining to do!" he yelled furious. She could mess with him all she wanted, but she had to keep her hands of Elena!

* * *

 


	5. The Reunion

**Part 1**

Damon walked into the living room, finding Bonnie going through her cupboards. "That bitch really got me. Look at my neck" she said bitter. Damon grabbed her arm and forced her to turn around. All of the fear he had felt since she jinxed him was gone and now all she could read on his face was fury. "Let go of me, Damon" she said with a cold voice, though she couldn't hide the tremble.

Damon brought his face to hers and looked her straight in the eye. He wasn't going to compel her, he knew he wasn't strong enough. "What have you done to Elena? You said you wouldn't hurt her" he said soft but threatening. "I didn't hurt her" Bonnie said scared. "She's happy, isn't that a good thing?"

Damon put his hand on her throat and squeezed it. "No, it isn't. She believes everything to be okay, when it's not. What if Klaus comes back and does something to her? She's not careful anymore and Stefan's gone, so he can't protect her. And thanks to you neither can I" he hissed angry. Bonnie tried to swallow, but Damon's grip was too tight.

She wanted to mind-torture him, but couldn't. She could hardly breathe. Damon loosened his grip a bit, so she could at least talk. "Katherine can protect her" Bonnie said hoarse. "That's why I didn't bewitch her, so she could keep an eye on Elena" Damon laughed, but then was serious again. "Well, aren't you noble then. You didn't let Katherine off the hook so she could keep Elena safe. You're afraid of her. You're scared she will harm you, and you were right" he said with a nod at Bonnies neck.

He grabbed her hair and let his fangs sink in her flesh. She screamed, but Damon tightened his grip and fiercely drank her blood.

* * *

**Part 2**  

Ryan and Lauren were driving back from a party. They stopped when the traffic light was red. Ryan tapped the wheel while he looked at his wife every now and then. The light jumped on green, but the car in front of them wouldn't move. "Come on, dude, move" Ryan mumbled irritated. But the car just stood still. Ryan decided to just drive passed it, but as soon as he performed his manoeuvre the car in front of them moved in such way Ryan couldn't overhaul it.

"Okay, fine, block me, whatever" Ryan said. "Well, at least they're moving again" Lauren said shrugging. "Yeah, but look at how they're driving. They're either drunk or stoned. We should call the police before they cause an accident" Ryan said when the car crashed into a wall. Lauren screamed. Ryan braked. "Oh no, oh no, oh no" Lauren moaned. "Ssh" Ryan hissed. "I'm going to see if they're okay. You stay here, call an ambulance"

Lauren shook her head in panic. "No, Ryan, stay here with me. I've seen this so many times. A couple or a group of friends cause or witness a car accident. They go check the bodies and then get slaughtered or they notice no one's in the car and then a few days later they get creepy messages and they get killed" Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Lauren, honey? You've seen 'I know what you did last summer' one too many times" "It's not funny" Lauren said angry, defending herself. "I know it isn't" Ryan said caressing her cheek.

He opened the door and got out of the car. He walked towards the wrecked car. "Hey, are you okay in there? Are you hurt?" Someone groaned. "Hold on, my wife is calling an ambulance" He reached the car and looked inside. It was dark, but he could see a face in the shadows. "Hi, can you move?" The man inside shook his head. Ryan pulled the door of, so he could see the full body of the man. "Can you try to loosen your seatbelt?" The man clicked the button, but it didn't open.

He pulled, but it was stuck. "I can't. I'm stuck" "Okay, don't worry. I'll try" Ryan said and he leaned forward to the man, his cervix towards him. As Ryan tried to loosen the seatbelt he felt a terrible pain in his neck. He felt how two hands grabbed his head and blood streamed over his neck.

Lauren gazed through the windshield. "Come on, Ryan, get back here" she mumbled panicking when Ryan was thrown out of the car and lay still on the ground. Right after someone jumped out of the car, too alive for someone who just had an accident. The man ducked and lifted up Ryan but then dropped him again. There Lauren concluded her husband was dead.

The man averted his head in her direction. Laurens eyes bulged and she wanted to start the car, but someone grabbed her from behind. She could see his reflection in the mirror and shrieked when she saw the maiming on his face. He opened his mouth and wanted to bite her with what looked like fangs, and Lauren closed her eyes awaiting the pain. But it didn't come. She opened her eyes again and looked at the backseat. The… thing that had tried to attack was unconscious… or hopefully dead.

"He's not dead" a male voice said. Lauren screamed and looked aside. A man was sitting at the steering wheel. "Don't be afraid. My name is Stefan" he introduced himself and he offered a hand which Lauren refused to shake. "Let's get you somewhere safe" "What are you going to do with him?" Lauren asked with a nod at the backseat. "Leave that to me" Stefan said. He started the car and drove away.

"Exactly where are you taking me?" Lauren asked scared. Stefan didn't answer, but kept driving. Ten minutes or what later he stopped at a parking lot. He got out and opened Lauren's door. "Come on, you can't stay in there" he said when Lauren hesitated. "It's not safe" Lauren loosened her seatbelt and grabbed Stefan's hand. As soon as her feet came in contact with the street Stefan whistled.

Lauren frowned. "What did you do that for?" she carefully asked. "I want you to meet my friends" Stefan answered. Lauren looked around. They seem to come from every direction and they headed their way. "You set me up" Lauren said with a weak voice.

"Ah, well, vampire" Stefan shrugged. Lauren gasped and panted and tried to escape, but Stefan tightened his grip. "No, don't run away, you don't want to miss the show. You know, they can run faster than light, but they like to keep the tense in it" Lauren struggled to get away as the other vampires came closer to them.

* * *

**Part 3**

The next morning Jeremy stumbled off the stairs; he probably would've fallen down if he hadn't hold on to the banisters. Coffee, he needed coffee and lots of it. He staggered to the kitchen and opened the cupboard to get out a cup. He managed to take three out and watched them shatter into pieces on the floor. "Damnit" he said and he ducked to collect the fragments. He picked one and naturally cut his hand. "Shit" he cursed.

"It's never a good idea to swear in the very early morning" Alaric entered the kitchen and noticed the glass and the blood. "Does it hurt?" he asked with a nod at Jeremy's hand. "It's okay" Jeremy said, pressing his hand with a towel to stop the bleeding. Alaric came closer and ducked as well. "Let me see" Jeremy showed his hand. "Hmm, looks pretty bad. You should see a doctor" Jeremy reluctantly shook his head. "No, Ric, it's… it's fine. I'm not going to bleed to death"

Alaric waved his hand. "Just do it, Jeremy. Okay?" he said in a tone that didn't tolerate any objection. Jeremy nodded, giving in. "I'll give you a ride" Alaric said. He grabbed the car keys and walked to the front door, Jeremy behind him.

During the ride Alaric tried to keep a conversation. "How are things with Bonnie?" Jeremy relegated uneasy. "She broke up. I thought Elena would've told you that" he said a little grumpy. "No, no, she didn't tell me anything" Alaric said, keeping his eyes on the road. "I noticed she's been a little off lately. She doesn't talk about Stefan anymore. Not that she usually talks to me that much"

"She's a little in denial" Jeremy explained. "She has a lot going on. I think she misses Stefan more than she wants to admit. And now that Damon hooks up with Bonnie-" Alaric braked so abruptly Jeremy bumped his head to the windshield. "Damon hooks up with Bonnie?" Alaric exclaimed, ignoring Jeremy's 'Ouch'. "Are you serious? Are they serious?" he continued.

Jeremy looked up with an uncomprehending expression. "What is this? Why is everyone so over the top surprised about Damon and Bonnie being together? Bonnie is an awesome person and well, I guess, Damon has his positive traits, too. I should want to kill Damon for stealing my girl, but I won't. Surprising, huh? If Bonnie finds happiness with Damon, then who am I to judge?" Alaric drove further, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Look, Jeremy, Damon is a very good friend and I know him. I'm not going to pretend to have seen the depths of his soul, but one thing I am sure of. He is not in love with Bonnie. Whenever he mentioned her he talked about how she could stop Klaus from killing Elena. He didn't care if Bonnie died in the process. All he cared about was Elena. I can't believe that has changed"

Jeremy relegated again, rubbing his forehead which still hurt a bit. "I love my sister, she can be cool, but she's not the world's greatest girl ever. Sure, I want to believe Damon had a thing for her. Apparently she has that kind of power over men, I wouldn't know since I'm her brother. But that doesn't mean they can't get over it. Damon must've realized it was a lost case and moved on"

Alaric clucked his tongue. How could Jeremy so easily cope with this situation?

* * *

 

**Part 4**

Bonnie woke up difficult. She opened her eyes. Everything was blurry and every limb on her body hurt. She felt a firm grip around her arm and someone pulled her up. Her head rocked back and forth when the same person slapped her in the face. "Booonniiee" a male voice sang. Damon, Bonnie realized. Slowly the events of the night before hit her fuzzy brain. Katherine, the attack, Damon's anger. The room became more clear and she saw Damon standing right in front of her.

"You're awake" he said. "It's about time" He made a step backwards, giving Bonnie the chance to catch a breath. "What do you want?" she asked scared to death but with a whiff of bitterness in her voice. Damon held his head diagonally. "I want to kiss you, make love with you, screw you until there's nothing left to screw" he answered sarcastic and bitter. "What do you think I want? I want you to take away whatever's keeping me in check. I want you to undo the spell you put on Elena"

Bonnie shook her head, looking desperate. "I can't, Damon, I'm sorry" Damon grabbed her neck, pressing her wound. She screamed. "And why can't you?" he asked, his voice caught in his throat. "The only way to free you is to kill me" Bonnie started and as a pleased smile appeared on Damon's face Bonnies eyes filled with tears. "No, please, don't" she begged. "I know you have every right to kill me, I deserve it. But think about Elena. She would never forgive you if you killed me… I know you love Elena"

Without loosening his grip Damon answered: "Wow, even when she's not around, you still find a way to use her as a persuasion" He let go of her and she walked away from him to the living room. She walked to the bookshelf where she got out a book. "I can't undo the spell without being killed, but I can make it… lighter" she said, opening the book.

Damon walked towards her. "What do you mean, lighter?" he asked suspicious. Bonnie browsed through the pages. "I can amplify your areas. So far you couldn't go anywhere without me. I can change that, I can let you go wherever you want within this town" "Works for me, for now" Damon said. "And you can talk to whoever you want, even Elena. I won't mind-torture you" Bonnie said breathless.

"Well, you're so thoughtful" Damon commented sarcastic. "How about Elena? Do you have to die for that, too?" "No, with Elena it's complicated. There's no reverse spell, she has to snap out of it on her own terms" Bonnie explained. "I can help her with that" Damon mumbled. "I got it. I need to hold your hands for this" she said carefully while she looked at Damon. Damon gave her his hands and looked away.

This would all be soon over.

* * *

 

  **Part 5**

"Okay, that doesn't look very nice" the doctor said. Jeremy was sitting on the examination table, Alaric was leaning onto the closet. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to stitch"

While she prepared her stitching material she talked to her patient. "So, how did this happen? Were you involved in a fight?"

Jeremy looked how she pierced the stitching scissor in his hand. "No, it wasn't like that. It was an accident" he answered. "I broke a cup, three cups. Cut my hand"

The doctor nodded. "Are you vaccinated for tetanus?" Jeremy looked up at Alaric, who helplessly raised his hands. "Ehm, I'm not sure. Is that important?" he asked. "Oh, don't worry, I'll give you an injection"

She waved at the nurse and she went to the cupboard with the medication and vaccination and she took a small, colorless flacon. She gave it to the doctor and she pierced the top of the bottle with a syringe, sucking 0,5 ml tetanus-toxoïd.

"Jeremy, this is going to sting a bit" she said as she injected the vaccine in his left arm. "There you go" she said. She put the needle down and gave him a compress. He pressed it on the injection wound, while the doctor took a plaster. "There, you're done" she said, while she threw the compress in the garbage can.

"Okay, are you coming?" Alaric asked.

"Eh, yeah, you can go" Jeremy said. "I'm coming, I just need to ask something"

"Well, then I'll wait" Alaric said.

"No, man, it's cool" Jeremy insisted. "Go have a coffee. You look like you could use it" And thus Alaric left the examination room.

Jeremy looked at the doctor. "Ehm, see, I'm having trouble sleeping and I wondered if you could prescribe me something"

The doctor nodded. "Are you full-grown?" Silence. "Yeah" Jeremy said very unconvincing. The doctor raised an eyebrow. "No" Jeremy admitted. "I can't prescribe anything to minors without parental approval. That man, is he your father?"

Jeremy shook his head. "No, he's my history teacher. My parents are dead" he said soft. "Who's your legal guardian?" the doctor asked. "My sister" Jeremy answered. "Call her and ask her to come" the doctor said. "There's a phone in the hall way you can use"

Jeremy gave in and left the room. He looked around in the hall way and spotted the telephone. He walked towards it and dialed Elena's number when he saw the doctor leave the room.

He hung up and sneaked back to the room. He quietly pushed the latch down and entered the room. He looked around; at first sight he seemed to be alone. He walked to the cupboard where the nurse had taken the vaccine and he searched through it.

The problem was that he had no idea how a cure for sleep disorder was called, so he had to read what was on the boxes very carefully.

"What are you doing here?"

Jeremy looked aside and saw the nurse staring at him with a shocked expression on her face and her hands on her hips. "You're not supposed to be here and you're definitely not supposed to be in that cupboard. Get out before I call the doctor"

"Listen, I need this" Jeremy tried to explain. "I'm not having an addiction. But it's been nearly two weeks since I had a proper sleep. Can't you prescribe me anything?"

"No, I'm not a doctor" the nurse protested.

"Please, I'm desperate" Jeremy begged. The eyes of the nurse flashed to the door and back at Jeremy. "Maybe I can help you. Meet me at the church at eight o'clock" she said agitated. "Now, you have to go, before she gets back"

"Thank you" Jeremy said and he left the room.

* * *

 

**Part 6**

Footsteps told Amber the vampires were back. She ran outside and saw them heading her way. She stood on her toes and looked for Stefan. When she noted him she noticed he was dragging someone with him, just like all vampires.

Only difference was that the person Stefan dragged was alive and kicking. She struggled and slapped Stefan to get away. Amber ran towards him. "Why didn't you bite her?" she asked.

"Hello to you too" Stefan replied. He pushed Lauren in Ambers arms. "Here, she's all yours" "You caught someone for me?" Amber asked slightly flattered. Stefan gave her a 'no, not a chance in hell' glance, because he knew what she was thinking.

"Well, you couldn't join us and I couldn't let you starve, now could I?" he said. The other vampires walked around him, leaving a trace of blood. "Don't worry, I already fed. Sure Klaus will understand I can't carry two bodies"

"Why not?" Amber asked. "You're extremely strong, so you could've brought two people here" Stefan shrugged and walked passed her. Amber turned around and followed him. "I didn't want to, okay?" Stefan said. Amber nodded.

"Just because Klaus tells me to do something doesn't mean I will" he continued. He stopped, and so did Amber. "What did Klaus do to you when you were alone with him?" he asked careful.

Ambers eyes bulged. "Eh, nothing… He wanted to know some things" she said avoiding. Stefan grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him. "What things?" he asked insisting. "Amber, what did Klaus ask you?"

Amber freed herself and shot Stefan an annoyed glance. "Let go of me, Stefan. What Klaus and I had to discuss is none of your business. Now back off" she snapped all hostile.

Stefan took a step back. "Are you plotting with him? Have you forgotten about our plan?" he asked concerned. "I need to know I can trust you, I can't do this alone"

Amber looked over Stefan's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Stefan, I'm a little grumpy. Guess it's the hunger" She looked at Stefan. "I'm still in, you can count on me"

"Good" Stefan said.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Amber said, "my food's trying to escape" and she raced away.

* * *

 

**Part 7**

Elena was sitting in the kitchen, playing solitaire. She picked up a card and squeezed her eyes at the Joker image. "You're mocking me, aren't you?" She got tired of the game, because she was losing, and collected the cards.

Then she took two card and placed them against each other, creating a triangle. She did the same with two other cards and placed them next to the first triangle.

"Are you seriously building a card house now?" Jeremy asked. He was sitting in the couch, playing a computer game. Elena didn't respond; she needed all her focus on the construction.

"Let her be, Jeremy" Alaric said. "That's what's called 'occupational therapy'"

Elena was halfway her construction when the bell rang. She jumped up and her card house collapsed. Annoyed she got up and answered the door. Complete silence.

"Hi" Damon waved, more shy than he ever was. Elena blinked and stared at him like she was frozen. The she came back to earth.

"Daaaammmoooonnn!" she squeaked and she threw her arms around him.

"Someone's glad to see me'" Damon laughed. Elena let go of him and looked at him with an ecstatic smile.

"I missed you so much, Damon! Jeremy said you were with Bonnie and at first I didn't like it. I mean, you and Bonnie? Only a delusional moron would put the two of you together, right? But then I figured, if Bonnie wants to be with someone who almost bit off her neck and if Damon wants to be with someone who sets him literally on fire, then who am I to stop them? I hope you two will be very happy" Elena ranted, still with that smile on her face.

She took a deep breath and then said: "Aren't you coming in?" She step aside and let him in. "Where's Bonnie? Didn't she join you?"

"No" Damon said a little annoyed, because the subject didn't change. "She stayed at home. She's sick" In the head, he thought.

"Oh no, is it serious?" Elena gasped. Damon rolled his eyes. "She'll live" he said short. Elena held her head diagonally. "Are you angry with me?" she asked scared like a two year old.

Damon sighed and his annoyed expression vanished. "No, I'm not" he reassured Elena. Not with you, he thought. "Okay" Elena nodded. "Come in" she said and she pulled him into the kitchen.

"Can I get you something? We don't have any blood unfortunately… You can have mine" she stuck her left arm out. Damons eyes bulged and for the first time a little smile appeared on his face. "No, thank you"

He gave Elena back her arm and his eyes fell on the table. "What were you doing?" he curiously asked. "Oh, that" Elena said bored. "Just something to pass the time" Damon sank down on a chair and shoved the cards to him. "In for a little competition?" he challenged Elena. Elena sat opposite Damon. "Bring it on"

* * *

 

**Part 8**

The sun was almost down and Stefan and Amber were once again sitting with each other. Now that Klaus knew they were just friends he didn't find it necessary to send someone spying on them.

He wanted Stefan to be his most loyal servant and he wanted to trust him. His closeness to Amber was alarming, but on the other hand Stefan wouldn't be so stupid to go against Klaus' wishes, knowing what could possibly be the consequences.

No one would stop him if he went after Damon, or worse Elena. No, Stefan wouldn't take that chance.

He couldn't be more wrong. He watched Stefan and Amber talking, but didn't pay much attention to it.

"They're not going to trust me" Stefan said. "Maybe Elena will, but I don't want to involve her into this"

"She's already involved, Stefan, because she's your girlfriend" Amber said.

"I know, but I can't just pop up after being away. Who knows what Katherine and Damon told her about me leaving. They would both be benefited if Elena's angry with me" Stefan explained.

"You really have trust issues, don't you?" Amber concluded.

"That's because I know that if it would be the other way around I would take advantage of the situation" Stefan said.

Amber shook her head. "I don't believe that" she said soft. "I've only known you for about two weeks, but you don't seem like someone who takes advantage of things to me"

"Well, like you said, you've only known me for two weeks" Stefan said dark. "Elena means the world to me and I'll do anything to keep her. I understand she has friends and I'm not going to separate her from them, but I'm not sharing her with my brother. She's not Katherine"

Amber looked at Klaus, who was standing a few yards further. "I'm still not sure if our plan's waterproof. I wouldn't believe it'

Stefan took her by her shoulders and whispered: "If Klaus would have any suspicion he would've compelled you while me and the others were on a hunt. If he would know what we're really up to we would've known by now. He wouldn't just stand there, he would kill us"

If that was supposed to reassure Amber, Stefan failed miserably. She swallowed by the idea of being killed. "You do the talking, I won't be able to keep my voice under control"

"Come on" Stefan sighed and he dragged Amber to Klaus.

"Stefan" Klaus said when he saw them heading to him. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Eh" Stefan looked at Amber, who kept her eyes on the ground. "No, not really. I wanted to take Amber with me for another hunt"

Klaus fixed his eyes on the girl. "Is that right?" he said soft. "Was what your dear friend brought you not satisfying enough, Amber? Look at me"

Amber lifted up her head, but focused on Klaus' chin. Stefan made a step forward and raised a hand. "She hasn't hunted since she's here. She needs to learn, if we want her to be of use. She's vulnerable if she can't get her own blood" he said.

Klaus jerked his eyes off Amber and shot them at Stefan. "Very well, then. If you're willing to make her a blood sucker such as yourself you have my blessing"

"Thank you" Stefan said cold. "Come on" he said to Amber and he pulled her away from Klaus.

"Stefan!" he turned around. "Don't do anything misguided" Klaus said. Stefan turned around again and together with Amber he left.

"See, I told you we could pull it off" he said confident.

* * *

 

**Part 9**

It was five minutes to Midnight. Jeremy wandered around at Fell's Church, glancing at his watch. He looked around to see if the nurse wasn't there yet. He heard murmur behind him and turned around quickly.

"Don't say I'm late" the nurse said when Jeremy opened his mouth. She looked around to see if no one could see them.

"I doubt anyone's going to see this" Jeremy mumbled. The nurse sighed and put her hand in her pocket. She took out a cylinder box and gave it to Jeremy. Sonata it said.

"It's a new medicine. It only stays in your body for a short time, and it works if you have trouble falling asleep. It's safe, but take only one. If something happens it's on me" she said worried.

"No one would know you gave me the pills" Jeremy said. "I'm not going to betray you"

"Well, that's a relief" the nurse said cynical.

"Hey, can I know your name?" Jeremy asked.

But the girl was already gone.

* * *

 

**Part 10**

It was ruined. It was completely and totally ruined. Katherine had realized that she blew all chances on a reunion with the Salvatore brother she really loved. What was she thinking, pretending to be Elena? Bonnie was annoying, but not stupid. Katherine was lucky to be still alive. And so was Bonnie. She had Damon to thank for that. Katherine hoped, with every fibre in her body, that he would take her down.

She had tried to pass Damon's message to Elena, but it seemed to be a lost case.

"Elena, Damon needs to tell you something" she said looking Elena sharp in the eye. "He wanted to tell you himself, but he can't. Bonnie won't let him"

Elena's eyes bulged. "What is it?" she asked all curious.

"He wants to tell you that he loves you" Katherine said. "And he's going to bring you back"

"Back from where?" Elena smiled uncomprehending. "I'm right here"

How much self-restraint Katherine needed not to slap Elena, but she knew Stefan would never forgive her if Elena got hurt. And she needed Stefan to be not angry with her.

She drank a glass of whisky and broke the glass with her grip. She felt a stinging pain in her hand and watch the cut heal.

"You need to be more careful" a familiar voice said.

Katherine froze. She recognized the voice, but didn't dare to turn around in case she was imagining things. She wanted him to be back so badly it wouldn't surprise her if she was hallucinating.

"Are you just going to stand there?" the voice asked. "Don't get me wrong, I like your back, it's a nice back. But I think I prefer your face"

She gathered her courage and slowly turned around. Her heart beat fast and painful. She wasn't dreaming, he was really there.

"Hi, Katherine" Stefan said. "I'm back"

* * *

 


	6. The Letter

**Part 1**

Katherine stared at him, not able to move. She didn't know what to say, so she focused on the girl behind Stefan. Stefan followed her eyes and pushed Amber in front. "This is Amber" he introduced the girl. "Amber, this is Katherine" he pointed at Katherine. "Katherine" Amber said. "So, she's not Elena" Due to that retarded conclusion Katherine came back to senses. "Yeah, he just said that, dumbass"

Her eyes fell on Amber's wrists. "Hey, that's my bracelet! What are you doing with my bracelet? Give it back, bitch!" Ambers eyes turned red and she growled, showing her fangs. Katherine's mouth dropped open a bit. "She's a vampire" she said breathless, looking at Stefan. "You're bringing a vampire in this house? A vampire we don't know. What are you thinking?"

"She won't do anything" Stefan said. "She doesn't even know how to hunt. Look, Katherine, I couldn't leave her. I need her. And Klaus indirectly gave the bracelet to her. You'll get it back one day" Amber didn't really understand what Stefan meant by that, but she decided not to pay too much attention to it. All would be explained in good time.

As much as Katherine had wanted Stefan to come back, now she just wanted him to go crawl in a dark hole. He needed that toddler? Really? Well, then he didn't need her, right? Then he could just get lost. Stefan recognized the expression on Katherine's face and made a step forward. He lay his hand on her shoulder. "Of course she can't replace you" he said soft. "Can we talk in the morning? Amber's really tired and so am I, so we're going to get some sleep" He turned at Amber. "You can sleep in Damon's room, if you want"

Katherine's eyes widened. No way in hell! "She can't sleep in Damon's room" she protested. "Why not? From what I've heard Damon's involved with Bonnie and he lives with her, so his room's free" Stefan said cold. Katherine shook her head. "No, it's not real. His love for Bonnie is not real. He's coming back" she said, trying really hard to convince Stefan. Or was she trying to convince herself?

"I know his love for Bonnie isn't real" Stefan said. "How stupid do you think I am? Damon needs something from Bonnie, that's why he compelled her to love him" "No, it's not like that" Katherine said hastily. "It's Bonnie, she's done something to his mind" Stefan sighed. He understood why Katherine took this road. Of course she wanted to believe Damon if he told her Bonnie was the villain. But she had to be realistic. Bonnie was a good girl and Damon had proven his bad character more than once.

"We'll talk in the morning" he said. "Amber, come on" and with a last look at Katherine he added: "No, she won't sleep in Damon's room"

* * *

**Part 2**  

The next morning Elena woke up by noises coming from downstairs. She rubbed her eyes and checked the alarm clock. Nine o' clock. Time to get up. She put on her dressing-gown and her slippers and walked down the stairs. The noise came out of the kitchen. She walked in and saw Damon making breakfast. He was baking pancakes. Elena sniffed the scent and sneaked up behind Damon. She threw her arms around his waist, laying her head on his back.

Damon placed the pan off the cooker and turned around. "Did I wake you?" he asked a little concerned. Elena nodded. "But that's okay. I want to be the first to have a taste" Damon reached out to a plate with a pile of pancakes. He took the upper pancake and held it in front of Elena. "They're so thin" Elena noted. "Pancakes are supposed to be thick" "No, American pancakes are supposed to be thick" Damon corrected Elena. "It doesn't hurt to try something else every once in a while"

Elena looked suspicious at the pancake. "So, what kind is it then?" she asked careful. Damon smirked. "It's a recipe from Belgium. They're supposed to be really good in the food area" "What's the difference, other than the thickness?" Elena asked. Who knew what those crazy Belgian people put in their food? Just because they liked their food, didn't mean she would. Look at the British people. They thought their meals were good, and it probably was good, if you're not used to better.

"They use regular milk instead of buttermilk" Damon said. "I thought regular milk makes you fat" Elena said frowning. Damon raised his eyebrows. "Elena, these are pancakes, they make you fat anyway. But one's not going to hurt" he said and he put the pancake in Elena's mouth. Because his fingers were in her eyesight she noticed his index finger looked different. She took his hand and had a closer look at it.

"What happened?" she asked carefully touching the finger. Damon shivered, because it hurt, but also because Elena touched him so gently. "An accident" he said soft. "You need to take care of it" Elena said worried. "When did this happen?" "Two days ago" Damon answered and the memory of it made his eyes go wet. Not because he was in pain, but because he was angry. He was never humiliated like that ever before.

"I'll get the first aid kit, you stay here" Elena said and she left the kitchen.

* * *

 

**Part 3**

Bonnie was in the guest room of her house. A suitcase was lying open on her bed and she threw clothes in it. Damon's clothes. She had unpacked them, because she believed she could keep him longer in prison. But that vampire bitch Katherine had ruined her malicious plan.

Damon was as good as free, he would drink human blood again, so he'd be stronger again. It would be just a matter of time before he came back for her to kill her.

When she was done she put her hand above the suitcase and let it float out of the room, downstairs. She opened the front door and unlocked her car. She opened the trunk and let the suitcase sank down. Then she walked to the side of her car and took place behind the wheel. She started the engines and drove away.

She stopped at the boarding-house. She didn't have to knock. Apparently he had seen her coming, because Stefan opened the door when she walked to the porch.

"Hi" he said. "I wanted to come over later today"

"Really? Why?" Bonnie asked as she pulled the suitcase to the doorstep. Stefan walked towards her. "Here, let me help you" he offered like a gentleman. He lifted the suitcase which weight like a feather to him. "Is this yours?" he asked, looking at Bonnie.

Bonnie shook her head. "No, it's… it's Damon's" and that being said she started crying. "Hey, hey, hey" Stefan said and he put the suitcase on the ground. He hugged Bonnie and consoled her. "What's the matter?"

Bonnie freed herself and wiped her tears away. "Nothing, I'm just…being stupid" she said. Stefan lay his hand on her cheek and looked at her with compassion in his eyes. "He really put you through hell, didn't he?"

Bonnie frowned her eyebrows. "Who, Damon? No, he didn't. It's my fault" she said. "We spent some time together and we were having fun. He said he was having fun and I thought he wanted more. But it was just one sided. It's not his fault I'm having a high school crush on him"

She swallowed and made a step backwards. Stefan looked behind him and saw Katherine exit the house. "What are you doing here?" she snapped.

"Nothing, I'm already leaving" Bonnie said trembling.

"Katherine, don't be so hostile" Stefan said defending his witch friend."She brought back Damon's stuff"

"Damon's not here" Katherine said staring at Bonnie. "Why would you think he's here?"

"Because I let him walk away" Bonnie said breathing fast. "He walked away"

"Well, he's not here" Katherine repeated.

"Then where is he?" Bonnie asked.

Katherine came closer to Bonnie, until she was only an inch away. "I think you know exactly where he is"

* * *

 

**Part 4**

"You should go see a doctor"

Elena and Damon were sitting at the kitchen table with the first aid kit in the center. Elena had tried to bandage Damon's finger, but the bandage didn't want to cooperate.

"I can't go to a doctor, I'm a vampire" Damon said. "And it's broken, a first aid kit is not going to help"

"But doesn't it hurt?" Elena asked compassionate.

"It's okay" Damon said. Bonnie had made the pain lighter, just like she did with the whole jinx, but of course she couldn't take it away completely. For that she had to die and since he couldn't kill her, because of Elena, that wasn't an option.

But still, accidents happen, Damon thought malicious. A somewhat evil smirk appeared on his face as he imagined all the possible accidental deaths Bonnie could face. He could push her in front of a car. Not his fault he had a sudden tic in his arm. He could set her house on fire. What, I thought you liked fire so much?

"Damon?" Elena said and Damon came back to earth. "Were you dreaming?"

Damon nodded. "Yeah, a little"

"Was it nice?" Elena asked curious.

"It would've been a lot nicer if you were in it" Damon said, looking into Elena's eyes. She was acting pretty normal. Was there any chance the spell had been broken?

"Elena, do you know what has been going on?" he asked careful. He didn't want to bring it up, but he had to if he wanted to know the truth. "Do you know what happened to Stefan? Do you remember?"

Elena stared at him and then chuckled. "Of course I know. Stefan joined Klaus and now he's a ripper. I'm not suffering from memory loss"

"You don't think it's a bad thing he's gone?" Damon asked rather hopeful.

"Well, he's coming back, right?" Elena said obvious. When Damon didn't reply her smile vanished. "Damon, he has to come back. I can't live without him. He's my Edward" Damon shivered. The fact that she referred to Twilight should be proof enough Elena was not back at all. He's my Edward, seriously?

"I'm not sure he's coming back, Elena" he said careful. As soon as he had said that Elena started crying. "No, please, don't cry. I'm sorry I said that. I didn't mean it" He meant every word he said, but Elena didn't need to know that. All he wanted was for her to stop crying, even if he had to take back his words.

"Can I do something to make you feel better?"

Elena looked up with wet eyes. "Ice cream makes me feel better"

Ice cream, Damon thought, nope, she definitely wasn't back yet.

* * *

 

**Part 5**

 

Katherine and Stefan were sitting in the living room while they were waiting for Amber to get downstairs. Stefan stared at her and tried to read her, which he couldn't.

Katherine was in conflict. Stefan was here, sitting with her. Wasn't that exactly what she had hoped for? The only obstacle were Amber and Elena, though Katherine believed Elena would be much easier to get rid of. Two words: Damon Salvatore.

Speaking of which, the witch said she let him go. If that was true, where was he? And why hadn't he told Katherine, when he knew how worried she'd been.

"I'm going to call him" she said eventually. Stefan blinked and nodded. He didn't have to ask who she was talking about. "He…eh… he needs to know"

"Of course" Stefan agreed.

Katherine took her phone and dialed Damon's number. The three seconds she had to wait seemed like an eternity. "Damon?" she asked hastily.

"Yeah" Damon confirmed.

"Where are you?" Katherine asked accentuating. "Bonnie said you and her were kind of… over"

"Kind of" Damon said. "She promised to leave me alone"

"Where are you?" Katherine repeated.

"I'm with Elena" Damon answered. "You want me to come over?" he said in a tone that sounded like that was the last thing he wanted. And Katherine could hear that. With a quick glance at Stefan she replied: "No, it's okay. You can stay right where you are" She hung up.

"And?" Stefan informed.

"He's fine" Katherine said.

"Well, where is he?" Stefan asked. Katherine shrugged and tried to avoid the question. If Stefan knew he was with Elena, he would go running straight to her and claim her. "He's somewhere safe" she said avoiding.

"I'm not interested in his well-being, Katherine" Stefan said fiercely. That comment frightened Katherine a bit. She knew Stefan used to be a very bad person in the past, but she had always believed he cared for his brother.

"If he has left Bonnie, it means he got what he wanted. I have no idea what that could be, but it sure as hell won't be something good"

Katherine got up and started pacing around. She turned at Stefan and she looked really frustrated. "How many times do I have to say it?" she exclaimed. "Damon's the victim here, not Bonnie. She's crazy, I knew he shouldn't go to her, but he didn't listen, of course. But he's okay now, so can't you let it go?"

"Why didn't you tell him I was back?" Stefan asked, pretending not to have heard any of Katherine's speech. "I thought you said he needs to know"

Damn it. He had driven her into a corner and she saw no way to get out.

"I didn't think about it" was the first excuse she came up with. Stefan breathed through his nose and pursed his lips. "Right" he said. "He's with Elena, isn't he?" He looked at Katherine. She didn't answer, but the expression on her face said enough. "Wow, when did you become an open book?"

He got up and left the boarding-house.

* * *

 

**Part 6**

 

"Okay, open up" Elena said. She held a spoon with strawberry ice cream in front of Damon. "Come on, you fed me that pancake, now it's my turn" She pushed the spoon against his lips until he had to give in.

"Good boy" she said motherly. Damon swallowed and looked aside him. The couple at the table next to them glanced at him and chuckled.

"People are going to think we're a couple" he said soft. Oh, how he wish.

"People can think whatever they want" Elena said and she had a bite of her ice cream. "We're friends, we can hang out without being talked about"

Friends, Damon thought. Of course they were friends. That was all they'd ever be. He stuck out his hand and lay it on hers. "What if Stefan comes back? Will we still be friends, doing this? You know, hanging out" he asked. If they couldn't be more than just friends, he didn't want to lose that either.

"Hey"

Damon and Elena looked aside. Bonnie was standing next to their table and she looked like a beaten dog. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Bonnie!" Elena exclaimed. She got up and threw her arms tightly around her best friend. "I missed you so much! Come sit with us!" She grabbed a seat from the table next to theirs and placed it next to hers. Bonnie looked reluctantly at Damon, who rolled his eyes. She slowly sank down on the chair and put her hands in her lap.

"Okay, I'm going to get you one of those" Elena nodded at the ice creams. "In the meantime, the two of you can catch up a bit" she added with a wink.

"No, Elena, we-" Bonnie started, but Elena didn't listen anymore. She had already turned around and walked inside the tearoom. Bonnie turned at Damon, who refused to look at her. "Okay, this is awkward"

Damon finished his ice cream, which was practically melted. It was more to have something to do. "Damon, I'm really trying to make up for what I did" Bonnie said with a sad face.

Damon tapped his spoon against his Sundae. It annoyed her so much she grabbed the spoon and threw it on the ground. "Will you listen to me?" she exclaimed. "I'm apologizing here, can't you meet me halfway?"

Damon stood up. "I'm going to check where Elena is" he said and entered the tearoom, bumping in on Elena. "Sorry" he said.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked surprised.

"I was looking for you" Damon answered. "I want to leave. Are you coming? Or do you want to stay?"

Elena looked outside. From where she was standing she had a perfect view at their table. She saw Bonnie writing something.

"I can't leave Bonnie there. We can't just sneak away, that's rude" Elena said a little shocked. "And she didn't have an ice cream yet" she said lifting up the Sundae. Throw it in her face, Damon thought bitter.

Elena walked towards the table, but then Bonnie got up and left. Elena accelerated her steps and when she arrived at the table she saw whatever Bonnie had written she had put it in an envelope and left it.

Elena picked it up and read the name on the envelop. "It's for you" she said to Damon, who came standing next to her. He took the letter out of her hands. He walked to the closest garbage can and threw the letter in it.

Elena widened her eyes and she looked surprised at Damon. "Why did you do that? Don't you want to know what it says?" she asked surprised.

"Nope" Damon said serious. "I'm pretty sure it says a lot of crap" Elena shook her head in disbelief. "Come on, let's go" Damon said and he hooked his arm in hers.

* * *

 

**Part 7**

 

He was sleeping. He was lying on the ground and he was sleeping. Until he felt a dull pain in his waist. He slowly opened his eyes.

"Get up"

He felt how someone threw something solid to his head. He lifted up his head and looked at it. Drumsticks. Cold drumsticks. But since they hadn't been exactly generous with food he didn't complain.

He picked up one of the drumsticks and ripped a piece off with his teeth. The person who had awakened him left the room. He sat up and looked at the walls. Small, white lines ran from halfway the walls to the floor.

The window frames were ripped off and repaired with tape and the glass was replaced with carton. Someone had lost his temper in this room. Though it was more likely it was a certain beast who had done these damages.

But it wasn't him. He knew that. There hadn't been a full moon yet since he was brought here. That was probably part of the reason why he was here. Because of what he was, next to human.

And it was probably why they weren't generous with food. If he turned on an almost empty stomach he'd go wild, more than usual, and he would make a lot of victims. And from the screaming he had heard the past night it was a sure thing his abductors loved to make victims.

He heard a shriek and listened carefully. It was coming from the room next door. He knew who was in there, which made it even more painful to hear her cries. He wanted to help her, but there was absolutely nothing he could do. But when it would be full moon again and they needed him, he would take his chance. He couldn't be controlled once he turned. Once the full moon rose he would get away and get help.

* * *

 

**Part 8**

 

Rachel and Gabe were having dinner when someone knocked their door. They looked up at each other with a hopeful expression. Could it be? Gabe got up out his chair and walked down the hall to open the door.

It was true. God had heard their prayers and answered them. He looked at the girl standing on his porch. "My dear God" he sobbed. "I knew you'd come back" He hugged her. "Can I come in?" Amber asked careful.

Gabe let go of her and looked at her with a strange face. What kind of question was that? "Of course you can come in, sweetie" he said. He pulled her into the house and as they walked back to the kitchen he shouted: "Look who's back!"

Rachel gasped for air when she saw her daughter standing behind her father. She covered her mouth with her hands and started crying. She stuck out her hands and waved to let Amber come to her.

Amber walked to her mother, who had stood up, and let her nearly suffocate her. "Amber" Gabe said soft. Amber freed her from her mother and turned around. Gabe was waving with a newspaper which he handed to her.

The front page contained a large photograph of her and above the picture the word WANTED flaunted. Her eyes raced over the short description below the picture. 'Amber Lindy, 16, ran away from home, prime suspect in a murder case'

Amber raised an eyebrow. "Who wrote this crap?" she asked and she dropped the newspaper on the floor.

Gabe ducked and picked up the paper. "This is serious, Amber" he said. "They believe you killed Derek. That's not true, is it?"

"Of course not!" Amber exclaimed. "I found him, that's all. I went to the shed and he was there, hanging on a rope. He was already dead"

"Something bit him, he was drained from blood" Gabe continued. "It was pretty nasty"

"Proves I didn't do it" Amber said with big eyes. "Do I look like something that can drain people from blood?"

"You were acting strange that night" Rachel said. Amber averted her head to her. How…? "You came home, all dirty, and you strangled me. You threatened me and you threw me on the ground. You robbed the fridge and you punched me"

Amber's mouth dropped open. "How do you know that?" she asked breathless.

"Wait, wait, wait, this is true?" Gabe hastily asked.

"What do you mean how do I know? I just know" Rachel said.

"You're not supposed to know" Amber said shocked, ignoring her father who felt totally left out. "I compelled you to forget it. You're supposed to remember you ran into a glass door doing grocery's"

If her mother remembered everything the way it was, it could mean two things. She was turned into a vampire herself, which Amber highly doubted, or another vampire had compelled her to remember the truth. Stefan, Amber thought , jerk.

" _Compelled_?" Gabe spit out. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I have to go" Amber said rushed. "I'm packing my things and then I'm out"

"What? You can't just leave again" Gabe said uncomprehending. "You just got here"

But Amber walked passed him to the stairs. Gabe grabbed her arm to stop her, Amber turned at him. Her eyes were red, she had wrinkles around them and she growled. Gabe let go of her and heavily breathed. Amber ran upstairs.

"Call the police" Gabe ordered his wife.

* * *

 

**Part 9**

 

Elena and Damon were walking back home. They had spent the rest of the day at The Grill and Elena had beaten Damon in a pool game. A small part of him wished she could stay this way. She was fun, she liked hanging out with him and she didn't talk about Stefan that much.

But he fell in love with the real Elena. The one that saved his life and that stayed with him while he was sick from Tyler's attack. Elena clung on his arm and shoved with her feet. "My legs hurt" she moaned. She looked up at Damon, with a puppy stare in her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that" Damon said teasing. "God gave you feet, use them" Elena curled her nose. "You sound like my dad" she said grumpy. "Don't be ridiculous" Damon said. "I'm much older than your father. I could be your great great great great great grandfather"

"Then you'd be one with a very good anti-wrinkle cream" Elena giggled. "I wonder if your muscles are in the same excellent shape as when you were twenty. Or is everything starting to creak, eh, grandpa?"

Damon pursed his lips. "Grandpa. Come on, get up, I'll carry you" he said. He knew Elena only had provoked him so she wouldn't have to walk anymore… and he gladly gave in. Elena walked behind him and jumped on his back. "Ah, much better" Elena said. "C'mon, horsy, homewards"

Damon raised his eyebrows. He'd have to do a lot of compelling once the real Elena was back. "Are you good?" he asked his passenger. "Yep" Elena confirmed and she held Damon's collar really tight as if she was holding Reins. "Go!" she said and Damon raced away.

But Damon raced too fast. When they arrived at the Gilbert house he couldn't brake in time and bumped into the wall. Elena fell off his shoulders, on the ground.

"Oh my God, are you hurt?" Damon asked worried. He ducked and helped Elena stand up. She had a small cut in her head. "I'm so sorry" Damon said soft. He carefully touched Elena's forehead. Elena shivered. Not just because it hurt…

He made a step forward and placed his lips on her forehead, tasting the blood. He felt Elena's warm breath breezing on his throat. He pulled away, and caressed her cheek. His eyes glided over her eyes, her nose, to her lips. This was wrong, he was taking advantage of the circumstances. And though he knew it was a lame excuse, he had to, and so he gently pressed his lips on hers.

Ten seconds, that felt like hours and yet way too short, they were locked onto each other. Ten second wherein neither of them dared to breath.

It was Damon who broke the silence. "You should get inside" he said softly. Elena nodded numb and inserted her house key in the lock. She turned it and opened the door. She entered the house and as she walked further she heard a familiar voice.

A voice Damon recognized as well. His face stiffened and fear came over him. Fear of losing Elena.

"Elena"

Elena gasped and stared in front of her. She knew he'd come back.

"Stefan!" she exclaimed. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him firmly on the mouth.

Damon felt like everything around him faded and his heart shattered in a zillion pieces. If the moon had crashed down on him it couldn't have hurt more. He couldn't watch this any longer.

He turned around and slammed the door. He shot one last look inside where he could see his brother and the girl he loved clinging onto each other as if they would disappear into the nothing if they ever let go.

* * *

 

**Part 10**

 

He didn't have to say anything. She could read it on his face. He walked passed her to the stairs. "I'm sorry, Damon" Katherine said soft. If he wouldn't hurt so much he might have been surprised how sincere she sounded.

"I tried to stop him" she continued. Damon nodded, but refused to look at her. "She's not in her right mind, Damon, it's because of what Bonnie did" Katherine said desperate.

Damon walked upstairs, pretending not to hear what Katherine was saying. He walked into his room and let him fall on his bed. He felt something underneath his back. He touched with his hand and felt something paper-like. He pulled it from under his back. It was an envelope.

More important, it was the envelope he had thrown away. How the heck… But then again Bonnie was a witch, so she would easily find a way.

He decided that he may as well open the envelope and read whatever rubbish she had to say.

' _Damon,_

_I could not find another way to reach you. You won't listen to me and I understand that. After what I've done I wouldn't listen to me either. But you have to know that I am truly sorry. My only excuse is that I was trying to protect Elena. She seems to spend a lot of time with you and I was afraid you would hurt her. I believe she's been through enough and I know you agree on that. But now I see I was wrong to take justice in own hands and try to punish you for what you are. I hope that one day you can forgive me._

_Love, Bonnie'_

As Damon read the letter his eyes went blurry, his brain fuzzy and his ears rang. He put the letter next to him and got up. He left the room and walked downstairs.

"Damon?" Katherine said, but her voice sounded like it was coming from a bad adjusted radio. Damon walked straight to the front door.

"Where are you going?" Katherine asked sharp.

Damon opened the door and exit the house.

"No, Damon, stay here!" Katherine insisted. Wherever he was going it was not a good place. She had to stop him. But as she tried to walk to him she bumped into something solid. It was like an invisible wall had risen up.

There was something or someone there and it wouldn't let her pass. She watched how Damon walked away and sank down on the ground. For a moment she had had both brothers back, but due to Elena she had now lost them again.

Damon walked quickly over street, as in trance. He stared in front of him and held his arms lifeless aside his body.

He didn't have to knock; she expected him.

"Welcome home, my sweet" Bonnie said with a sugar-sweet voice and she let him in.


	7. The Hunt

**Part 1**

 

Amber looked outside her window. The house was surrounded by police cars and a police officer held a loudhailer in his hand. She automatically covered her hands when he shouted: "Amber Lindy! You're surrounded, there's no way you can escape! Walk outside with your hands behind your head!"

Yeah, sure, I'll surrender for something I didn't do, Amber thought while she put her finger in her ears. They ringed. She would've heard him perfectly fine without the speaker, but of course they couldn't know that.

Amber took out her phone and dialed a number. It took a while before she reached the one she was trying for.

"Not now, Am, I'm kind of busy" a female voice said.

"I need your help, Kel" Amber said urgent. "I'm in trouble"

"Well, that's a new one" Kelsey said sarcastic.

"Can you leave out the sarcasm?" Amber asked tired.

"Sure" Kelsey said. "What do you need? Money? Medicines? I can't give you much, they could notice"

"No, I don't need anything other than your help. Can you please get here, in my room?" Amber insisted.

"All right" Kelsey replied. "Make sure mom and dad don't see me" She hung up.

Clutter on the stairs alerted Amber someone was coming up. A few seconds later someone banged the door. "Amber Lindy, get out of that room right now! We are armed, this is going to end. Open the door!" Naturally Amber did not obey that order. "Crush the door" someone else said.

But before the door slammed open Amber ran to her window and opened it. She looked down. Experience had learned her she could jump and fall and stand up. But to get passed the crowd was a mission impossible. That's what she needed Kelsey for. She placed her feet on the window-ledge, took a deep breath and jumped.

At first there was complete silence. It was as if everyone had lost their voice and everything its sound. Then someone let out a scream.

People tried to get closer to the body, while the police tried their best to keep them to a distance.

"We need an ambulance!"

"Someone call 911!"

Then a female voice: "Let me through! That's my sister!"

The crowd split up and let Kelsey pass. When she got to the yellow strip that was supposed to keep people away a police man tried to stop her. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you pass, miss"

"That's my sister" Kelsey repeated. "I'm a nurse, I can do first aid"

The police man step aside and let her through. She ran to her sister's body, her high heels ticking on the pavers. She bent on her knees and rolled Amber on her back. She pushed her eyelids up and could easily tell she was fully conscious. Kelsey bowed and whispered in Amber's ear: "I'm going to lift you up. Can you pretend you're injured?"

Amber gave an almost unnoticeable nod and Kelsey threw her arm around her shoulder. She pulled Amber up.

"Aaaaaaah!"

Kelsey rolled her eyes. "A little more overacted, please!" she hissed. "Just pull faces, okay?" She dragged her sister away from the house. She wanted to go her car, but was once again stopped by the police man.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you take her somewhere" he said. "You're her sister, I can't trust you. You might help her escape"

Kelsey pulled her shoulders and raised her hands. "Then let someone come with us. Someone strong, who can easily take two girls down"

The police man seemed to consider that suggestion. He whistled on his fingers and waved with his hand to one of his colleagues. The man came to him. "Can you bring them to the van?"

"Cuffs?" the colleague asked.

"Don't bother" the police man said. " _She's_  not going to run anywhere fast" He said with a look at Amber.

The colleague took Amber by her other arm and along with Kelsey he carried her to the police van. When they arrived the police man let go of Amber and unlocked the van. He heard a thump and looked behind him.

Amber was lying on the ground, playing her injured role, but Kelsey was gone. He picked her up and turned around to put her in the van. Kelsey blocked him.

She gave him a strange look which made him shiver. She grabbed his neck and turned it over. A crack and she dropped him on the floor, Amber still in his arms.

* * *

 

**Part 2**

Damon was sitting on his knees, in his cell, his hands chained above his head. Bonnie sat behind him and stroke with her middle finger over his naked back. It was pitch dark, but somehow she managed to see everything she needed to.

There was a small jar of a colorless liquid next to her. She dipped her index finger in it and pulled it out again. She waited five unbearable seconds wherein she could hear Damon's hectic breathing. She placed her finger on his shoulder blade and starting from there she formed letters.

Though Damon only groaned, she saw him grasping the chains and pull his back, which made it difficult for her to write.

"What…what are you…doing?" he said weak.

"Ssh" Bonnie hissed. "Don't talk and sit still. I need to concentrate" Ignoring Damon clenching his teeth she continued her inscription, while blood streamed over his back like minuscule creeks. She purposely wrote immense slow to let him suffer even more and she wasn't finished until she reached the bottom of his back.

"The pain's going away, you know" Damon said with a whiff of his old sarcasm. "Eventually" He felt how Bonnie placed her hands on his burning shoulders and gasped. She bowed to his ear and whispered: "Not if I'm around to make sure you keep feeling it"

She stood up and walked around Damon until she was standing in front of him. She bent down on her knees to be on eyesight with Damon and looked him in the eyes.

Damon looked away, but was forced to look back at Bonnie. "Damon, I forbid you to show anyone what's on your back" she said soft, but sharp. "Do you understand?"

Damon nodded.

"Now you need to be patient. Tonight you can hunt. But no humans" Bonnie said. "You know what happens when you harm people, then I would have to punish you and I don't want to do that"

She walked passed him and walked out of the cell, leaving the door open. There was no need bothering closing it; the key of Damon's prison involved something much less earthly than a door.

* * *

 

**Part 3**

The next morning Stefan woke up on the ground next to Elena's bed of which he'd apparently had fallen off. He scribbled up and looked at Elena. She looked so peaceful, her arms wrapped around her teddy bear.

It was almost a shame to wake her up. But he did anyway. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "Psst, Elena? Wake up, sweetheart. The sun's already up" Elena stayed asleep. Stefan carefully tapped her arm.

"Elena?" Elena made a violent move with her arm and nearly slapped Stefan, if he hadn't stepped backwards. She groaned and turned on her other side. Stefan grabbed the sheets and pulled them away.

Her eyes closed Elena touched for the sheets and when she couldn't find them she pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them to warm herself. Stefan, who thought his girlfriend was being silly, got tired of it and dropped the sheets on the floor. He walked to the door, opened it, walked out and slammed it.

Elena opened her eyes. She had to wake up alone, without Stefan. When they met again last night he had wanted to celebrate it in the best way he could think of. But Elena wasn't ready for that.

She understood that Stefan had much more experience and that he had his needs, but she wasn't ready to give herself away like that. And Stefan could claim she already had all he wanted, she didn't remember, and so it never happened.

For now she could reject him, but she couldn't keep doing that. She couldn't keep pushing him off the bed.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember what she had dreamt. It had been a very weird dream. There was a voice calling her name. A familiar voice, though she couldn't point its owner.

She followed the voice and ran over fields and up hills. But when the voice faded away and she thought she'd see who called her, she only saw an open earth field with black clouds floating above it.

Elena opened her eyes again and took a deep breath. She had to get up. Maybe they could check on Damon today. He left so suddenly, Elena didn't want him to feel like a third wheel.

They were friends, they could still hang out. But first she needed something for her back. It itched like crazy.

* * *

 

**Part 4**

"This morning the body of deputy Greg Ferrel was found on a parking lot. Investigators say the death cause is yet unknown, but the body seems to be drained of blood. Looks like that popular vicious beast has returned"

The camera was pointed at the corpse which was covered in a black body bag and a photo of a mid-thirty year old man with blonde hair was shown.

Bonnie shut the television down and sniffed. She turned around and headed to Damon's 'bedroom'. She entered the space, but before she could say anything Damon said: "I didn't do it. It wasn't me"

Bonnie sharply looked at him and a cut appeared on Damon's temple. "Don't talk unless I give you permission" she hissed. She walked towards him and grabbed his face with her nails.

She stared in his eyes, trying to read if he was lying. After what seemed like hours she let him go. "I believe you" and Damon let out a relieved sigh. "It could be Katherine, she's a human blood drinker" Bonnie continued, more to herself than to Damon.

She reproachfully looked at her hostage. "You need to keep an eye on that vampire friend of you or she'll kill the whole town. I can't spend my time on everyone, you alone is hard enough"

"Here's a thought, you could let me go" Damon suggested sarcastic. He wanted to let his arms down; he was having a cramp by hanging there like that. Bonnie nodded and noticed how Damon's face lightened up a bit.

"No, not in that way. I need you to watch Katherine"

She mumbled the words to open the chains and Damon rubbed his bruised wrists. He spun his arms around to loosen them. Bonnie took him by the shoulders and looked in his eyes.

"Damon, I order you to go to Katherine. I forbid you to go or talk to anyone else but Katherine or me. Understood?" Damon nodded. "Go!" Bonnie ordered.

* * *

 

**Part 5**

When Elena finally arrived at the kitchen, all showered and dressed, Stefan was sitting on the sink having a blood bag in his hand, which appeared to be his breakfast.

Blood streamed from the corners of his mouth, but he didn't bother to wipe them away, not even when Elena shot him a yuck glance. She went to sit with her back to him. If she was still going to have breakfast she could not stand the view of a blood drinking boyfriend.

She shoved the cereals to her and filled her bowl. Then she poured milk in it. She recalled the morning before when Damon had been baking those delicious pancakes.

"Damon baked me pancakes yesterday" she said. Why did she say that? She turned around to see Stefan's face. He drank some blood, so he wouldn't have to comment immediately. "They were really good"

Stefan jumped off the sink and threw the empty blood bag in the garbage bin. He turned around, his eyes red. Elena gasped and threw down her bowl. Stefan's face went back normal.

"I'm sorry" he said. "What are you trying to say, Elena? You want me to bake pancakes? Like Damon did? What have you two been doing while I was away? Did you sleep with him? Did you let him bite you?"

Fear was being replaced by shock and Elena got up. "Seriously? You're going to lecture me now?  _You_  killed people, not me! And Damon has tried really hard to help me. He could've tried to make a move, he could've taken advantage of you being gone, but he didn't. So will you stop acting like he's the bad guy, because you're not any better"

Stefan looked like Elena had slapped him in the face. Then he grabbed her shoulders and firmly pressed his lips on hers. Elena struggled, but Stefan tightened his grip. "Let me go, Stefan!"

For a moment Elena thought he finally listened, because he did let her go, but then she saw Alaric pushing Stefan away. "She said no, Stefan" he said short. Stefan ignored Alaric and looked at Elena.

"What's your problem, kid? You're my girlfriend. We're supposed to kiss, we're supposed to make out. But all you do is acting like a PMS bitch" he snapped, showing his fangs.

Tears filled Elena's eyes.

"You know what, I don't like you very much, right now" she said and she went to the living room. She sank down on the couch and tightly embraced a pillow. She heard something break in the kitchen and pictured her bowl shattered on the floor.

* * *

 

**Part 6**

"I still can't believe you killed him"

Amber and Kelsey were hiding in the woods.

"And I can't believe you just drained him" Kelsey fired back. Amber shrugged. "You know what I am, what did you expect?"

"Who turned you?" Kelsey asked.

"Some guy named Stefan, why?" Amber said. Kelsey's eyes widened. "Stefan Salvatore?" "Yeah" "You got involved with a Salvatore? Are you out of your mind?"

"I didn't get involved with him! He got involved with  _me_. He attacked  _me_. And why are you so upset about him being a Salvatore?" Amber asked uncomprehending.

"The Salvatore Brothers are not famous for their nobleness. They're killers, they have no morals, wherever they go they bring destruction. You need to stay away from them" Kelsey said, breathing fast.

"Stefan's always nice to me" Amber defended her vampire friend. "He kills people, so I won't have to. And Damon's just… fine"

Kelsey rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Amber, not everything is about looks" she sighed. "If you're here, does that mean Stefan's here, too?"

"Yep, he's with Elena Gilbert" Amber answered with a fling of jealousy. She did not have a crush on him, not even close… she tried to convince herself. She was just pissed because he ran to his sweetie as fast as he could and he completely forgot about her, like she didn't mean anything to him. Maybe that was because she in fact didn't mean anything to him.

"I met her brother" Kelsey said. "He wanted to steal sleeping pills, but I stopped him" The part where she met him at Fell's Church she ,very consciously, left out. She looked at her sister again. "Stay away from the Salvatore Brothers, then you'll also stay out of trouble"

Amber laughed scornfully. "Says the girl who caused a hit and run"

* * *

 

**Part 7**

Katherine stared at him like it was the first time she saw him. Damon walked passed her and entered the Boarding House. "Nice to see you too, by the way" he said to a speechless Katherine.

"I heard Bonnie brought my stuff back here" Katherine nodded, then realized Damon didn't see her since he was standing with his back to her and mumbled: "Yeah, she did" She gathered herself together and walked towards Damon and stopped right in front of him.

"Why are you here?" she asked suspicious. "I mean, not that you can't, this is your house, but are you allowed to be here? Does Bonnie let you?"

Damon frowned his eyebrows. Katherine knew much more about what was going on than he or Bonnie thought. She knew or at least had a high suspicion that Bonnie decided where Damon could go and what he could do.

"I can talk to you, she doesn't have a problem with that" Damon decided. "Katherine, I need to ask you something" Katherine made a step backwards and braced herself. "What?" she asked careful.

"There was a man murdered last night. Would you have anything to do with that?" "Bonnie sent you to interrogate me? She uses you now to do her dirty work? I'm going to kill that bitch!" Katherine exclaimed and she raced to the front door.

She opened it and saw Elena on the porch. "Hi, get in, I'm gone" Katherine said and she ran off. Elena entered the house. "Damon? Are you in here? It's me, Elena"

As soon as Damon heard her name his face went pale and his hands got sweaty. "Elena, go home! I'm sick!" What a lame excuse, Damon thought, vampires don't get sick. He could slap himself right now.

He heard footsteps coming closer to the living room and ten seconds later Elena entered the living room. At first he thought she was walking to him, but she just passed him and headed for the wall. She leaned her back against it and went up and down, like Baloo in Jungle Book.

"God, this itch is driving me nuts!" As she said that Damon felt his own back burning and stinging like Bonnie was in scripting her vervain message all over again. "Hey, what's wrong?" Elena asked when she noticed Damon's pained face.

Damon turned around and Elena left her wall. She walked towards Damon and lay her hands on his back. "What's wrong?" she repeated. She felt Damon's button down was kind of wet. "Nothing" Damon said sharp.

"There's something on your back" Elena insisted. "Let me see" She started to pull his shirt, but Damon turned around and gripped her hands. "Don't" he said. "Everything's okay. You need to go home"

Elena shook her head. "I don't want to go home. I don't want to see Stefan right now. Can't I just stay here for a while?" she asked with a puppy look in her eyes.

Damon looked sadly at the girl he fancied. He should send her away, and make her stay away. But one hour couldn't hurt. "All right" Damon sighed. "Why not"

"Yay!" Elena exclaimed and she threw her arms tightly around his neck. Damon, who tried to ignore the sharp, burning pain, helplessly patted her back.

* * *

 

**Part 8**

When the door slowly opened Stefan raced to the door and as soon as Elena got in he slammed it. Elena started breathing fast when she saw the fury in his eyes. He'd been drinking human blood again.

"Where the hell have you been?" Despite her fear Elena felt some anger too. "You have no right to act like a jealous boyfriend! You don't own me!" she yelled. Stefan gripped her shoulders and shook her.

"Where you with Damon? Answer me!" Tears rolled over Elena's face. "Stop it, Stefan, you're hurting me!" she sobbed. He let go of her and went with his fingers through his hair, frustrated.

"I'm sorry" he said, raising his hands and stepping backwards. "I'm sorry" he repeated. "You're right, I don't own you" He lay his hand on her cheek.

"I'm just so scared I might lose you. You're the reason I came back. If you leave me for Damon or for anyone else for that matter, I might as well go back to Klaus" Elena wiped her tears away.

"I'm not going to leave you… Damon is my friend. You have to understand I need other people in my life than just you" she said hoarse.

Stefan nodded. "I know… Let me make it up to you" he said. Elena waited for his proposal. Stefan took her hands. "I'm going hunting tonight and I would really like you to join me" he started.

"It's going to be dangerous, so I need you to be careful… Can I count on you?"

Elena stared at Stefan like he'd gone crazy, but slowly nodded yes.

* * *

 

**Part 9**

Alaric was in the kitchen solving crosswords when Jeremy walked to the cupboard and took a glass. He leaned over Alaric's shoulder. "Cheese" he pointed at the page.

Alaric filled in the word. And then closed the book. "I'm done" he said, stretching his arms. "I'm going to bed" he looked at Jeremy. "And you better not stay up too late, either. Has anyone told you how wrecked you look?"

Jeremy nodded. "I know. But I have a good feeling that will change soon enough" For a moment Alaric wanted to ask what he meant by that, but then decided he was too tired. He said goodnight to Jeremy and headed to his bed.

Jeremy searched his pocket and took out the pills Kelsey had given him. He took one and drank some water. He put the pills back in his pocket and went upstairs. He walked in in his room and got undressed. With only his boxers he threw himself on the bed and closed his eyes, ready to sleep like Sleeping Beauty.

Jeremy opened his eyes. He was outside. It was day, but it was dark as well. Dark clouds floated in the sky. He heard a familiar voice calling him. He wanted to follow the voice, but as he tried to move he felt something stopping him.

He looked down and saw how twigs of thorns winded around his legs. He tried to keep his balance, but fell down. He grabbed the twigs, gasped and let go. He stared at his hands, which were red and bleeding.

He grabbed the twigs again and tried to loosen them, but the more he tried to break them the stronger their grip became. As he struggled to free himself he felt a sudden coldness come over him and Vicky's spirit floated next to him.

"We told you to stay awake" She vanished and Jeremy felt how the twigs got tighter around his thorax. As much as he wanted to fall asleep, now all he wanted was to wake up, but his ghosts kept him stuck in his sub consciousness.

* * *

 

**Part 10**

Alaric was in the kitchen solving crosswords when Jeremy walked to the cupboard and took a glass. He leaned over Alaric's shoulder. "Cheese" he pointed at the page.

Alaric filled in the word. And then closed the book. "I'm done" he said, stretching his arms. "I'm going to bed" he looked at Jeremy. "And you better not stay up too late, either. Has anyone told you how wrecked you look?"

Jeremy nodded. "I know. But I have a good feeling that will change soon enough" For a moment Alaric wanted to ask what he meant by that, but then decided he was too tired. He said goodnight to Jeremy and headed to his bed.

Jeremy searched his pocket and took out the pills Kelsey had given him. He took one and drank some water. He put the pills back in his pocket and went upstairs. He walked in in his room and got undressed. With only his boxers he threw himself on the bed and closed his eyes, ready to sleep like Sleeping Beauty.

Jeremy opened his eyes. He was outside. It was day, but it was dark as well. Dark clouds floated in the sky. He heard a familiar voice calling him. He wanted to follow the voice, but as he tried to move he felt something stopping him.

He looked down and saw how twigs of thorns winded around his legs. He tried to keep his balance, but fell down. He grabbed the twigs, gasped and let go. He stared at his hands, which were red and bleeding.

He grabbed the twigs again and tried to loosen them, but the more he tried to break them the stronger their grip became. As he struggled to free himself he felt a sudden coldness come over him and Vicky's spirit floated next to him.

"We told you to stay awake" She vanished and Jeremy felt how the twigs got tighter around his thorax. As much as he wanted to fall asleep, now all he wanted was to wake up, but his ghosts kept him stuck in his sub consciousness.

* * *

 


	8. The Evil Enchantress

**Part 1**

Damon carried Elena over the doorstep, like a bride and kicked the door with his foot, in an attempt to shut Bonnie outside. However, she just in time stopped the door from closing and she entered the Gilbert house.

"I'll take her to bed" Bonnie said authoritative. But Elena groaned sleepy and clung on Damon's neck. Damon ignored Bonnie and carried Elena upstairs to her bedroom. He opened her door, walked her to her bed and gently lay her down.

Bonnie stood in the doorway, looking sharp at the bed. Damon sat at the end, taking off Elena's shoes. He felt Bonnies stare piercing on him and he turned around, noticing the judgy look in her eyes. "I'm not going to undress her" he said annoyed. "But she can't sleep with her shoes, okay?"

Bonnie pursed her lips. "Fine then" she gave in. "But don't drag this out any longer than it has to" Trusting nothing inappropriate would happen between them, Bonnie turned around and left the room, leaving Damon and Elena alone.

Damon shoved a little closer to Elena and caressed her hair. He missed the real Elena so much. Not that this wasn't the real Elena, this was just… another version of her. He knew she was in there, deep inside. She was just locked up in her own childhood.

"Goodnight, Elena" Damon said soft. He leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss on her head. Elena gripped his sleeve and sat up. "Will you read me a bedtime story?"

Damon frowned his eyebrows. "What?" he asked unsure.

"A bedtime story" Elena repeated. Damon averted his head and looked at the floor, shocked and upset. "Are you seriously asking me to read you some fairytale story?" he asked hoarse. Elena opened her mouth, then closed it and pouted. "You don't want to!" she wailed and tears rolled over her face.

"No, please don't cry" Damon tried to calm her down. He anxiously looked at the doorway, expecting Bonnie to come and take notice of what was going on. "Stop crying, Elena, please" he begged helpless. "I'll do it, I'll read you a story"

Elena stopped whining. She looked at Damon, suspicion all over her face. "You're just saying that so I wouldn't cry anymore. You don't really want to" she said, crossing her arms.

"No, I really want to" Damon said. "Of course I will tell you some story. In fact, I happen to know a very beautiful one. One that really happened"

"Yay!" Elena cheered and clapped her hands. She put herself in a comfortable posture and took her teddy. "I'm all set"

"Okay" Damon said. "Once upon a time, in a land far far away…"

* * *

 

**Part 2**

Bonnie put her hand on the latch and pushed it down. She opened the door and watched Jeremy tossing and turning in his bed. She stepped towards the bed and sank down at the end.

She saw the tortured expression on Jeremy's face and wondered what he was dreaming of. Her glance slide from his face to his chest going up and down. There she noticed the drops of blood.

Jeremy tugged his shirt as if there was something on his chest that wouldn't get off. His eyes opened and bulged, but he was still stuck in his dream. He gasped for air, seeming to choke. His hands went up to his throat, his fingers tugging on whatever it was that made him suffocate.

Bonnie lay her hands on Jeremy's shoulder and shook him. "Jeremy!" she shouted. She gripped his hands, trying to get them away from his throat. "Wake up, Jeremy!" She lay her hand on his chest and she spoke some words in a foreign language.

The twigs of thorns had winded up around his chest to his throat. The more he tugged them the tighter they got. He heard a distant voice calling for him and he felt something warm on his hands.

Then the warmth went to his chest. He felt the pressure on his throat, on his whole body, fade away. He looked down and saw the twigs going back into the ground.

He sat up and gasped for air. He anxiously looked around. He saw his desk, with his computer. He saw his door and his posters. He was awake.

"Hey"

Jeremy looked around, seeing Bonnie sitting at his bed. "What are you doing here?" he asked a little annoyed. The last person he wanted to see after facing a near death experience would be his ex.

"A simple thank you would suffice" Bonnie said not very impressed.

"What are you talking about?" Jeremy asked, though he pretty much knew what she was talking about.

"You were dying, I'm a witch, do the math" Bonnie said. "Anyways, you're welcome" "Why aren't you with Damon? You dumped me because of him, I know you did" Jeremy said.

"He's with Elena now" Bonnie said. Jeremy's eyes widened. "In her bedroom" Jeremy's eyes widened even more. "Okay, if your eyes are going to bulge even more they're going to pop out. I'm sorry of how I make it sound. Elena is… drunk. And Damon and I brought her home. He's just making sure she's okay"

Jeremy nodded.

"And I'm making sure you're okay" Bonnie continued. She stuck out her hand, but Jeremy pushed it away. "Please don't pretend to care" Bonnie sighed and stood up. She walked towards the door, sank down and leaned against it. "What are you doing?" Jeremy asked confused.

"I'm staying here, to watch over you" Bonnie said. "You can sleep safe now"

"Right" Jeremy nodded. "And what if my dreams try to kill me again?"

"Then I'll be here to make sure that doesn't happen" Bonnie said.

* * *

 

**Part 3**

"Once upon a time, in a land far far away there was a girl, named… Selena. She was the most beautiful girl of the land. She was sweet and kind and very lovable. There was also a boy, named Steve who happened to be a prince, and soon they fell in love with each other.

But this boy had a brother whose name was… Duncan who was in love with Selena too. However, Selena loved Steve and Steve was the charming prince. So Selena didn't want to be with Duncan, but after some time they became good friends.

One day the prince had to leave to… fight in the army. While Selena waited for him to come back, Duncan fell in love with another girl. Her name was… Annie. She appeared to be very sweet and kind.

But Annie was a very powerful witch. One day Duncan went to her house to declare his love for her. She invited him in and they had a romantic moment. At a certain moment Annie had to do something and Duncan went to explore the rest of the house.

In the living room he found a spell book. It fell open and when he read it Duncan realized Annie didn't love him at all. And what's more important,  _he_  didn't love  _her_  at all. She was an evil enchantress.

She had made him believe he loved her to lure him to her house, so she could complete the spell. When the spell was finished she brought him to a cell in a basement, where she chained him up.

He slept for a week, while Annie took care of his friends, including Selena, putting a spell on her" Damon told Elena, who was completely lost into the story, while Damon hoped Elena would be able to put the pieces together.

"What happened to the boy? Duncan? Was he still under a spell?" Elena asked interested. Damon nodded. "A different one. He knew everything that happened, but whenever he said or did something Annie didn't approve of she hurt him with her magic"

Elena gasped and her eyes were wet. "Why did she do that?"

"She didn't like him very much. He had done a lot of bad things" Damon explained.

"Then she should turn him in to the police, not hurt him… I don't like this Annie chick very much" Elena said grumpy. "What happens next? Did he break the spell? Did he and Selena end up together? 'Cause I'm rooting for them!"

"Why don't you stop here and I'll tell you the rest of the story some other time?"

Damon and Elena looked at the doorway. Bonnie had come back.

* * *

 

**Part 4**

"Can I talk to you?" Bonnie said with a piercing glance at Damon. He looked angry at her and turned to Elena. "I'm sorry" he said soft. "I have to go. Goodnight, Elena" he said and he kissed her cheek.

He got off the bed and covered her up. Elena took his hand. "Will you be back tomorrow?" Damon averted his head to Bonnie who's face had a 'no way in hell' expression and thus Damon turned to Elena again. "'Course I will. Can hardly wait" he promised.

He walked towards the door and followed Bonnie outside. As soon as the door closed Bonnie slapped Damon in the face. For a second she forgot she had powers. She was furious. He almost spoiled everything!

" _This_  is why I can't leave you out of my sight. I cannot trust you! What were you trying to do? Do you want Elena to turn against me? Because she almost did!" she screamed.

Damon made an annoyed sound and walked away from Bonnie. At the stairs he turned around. "If Elena would turn against you, you only have yourself to thank for that" he said bitter and he walked downstairs.

* * *

 

**Part 5**

"Where is she?"

Stefan slammed the door and grabbed Katherines throat. He growled threatening. "Where is she?" he repeated. Katherine took his hand and pulled it away. "Depends on who you're looking for" she said sober, not in the least intimidated.

"Amber" Stefan panted. "Where is she? I'm going to kill her" Katherine laughed scornfully. "Well, that's great, Stefan, can I do it?" she said sarcastic. "But before we get to that point of epicness, can you fill me in on the why?"

"She attacked Elena" Stefan explained. "I left Elena alone; she was too scared to come with me, so I killed a couple that were having a romantic night in the woods, while she waited for me. But when I came back I saw Amber sneaking up on her and grabbing her neck. I wanted to save her, but…"

"But what?" Katherine asked.

Stefan sighed and shrugged. "Damon beat me to it"

Katherine nodded and raised her hand. "Okay, let me get this straight. You witness your girlfriend being attacked by the vamp chick you brought here and saved by your brother, and your first instinct is to go on a vengeance. Shouldn't you be checking on Elena? I think she'll be pretty upset, being the toddler she is right now"

Stefan stared at Katherine as if he was coming from a whole different planet. "Don't call her a toddler, Katherine. She's a grown-up"

Katherine face palmed herself. "You want to tell me you didn't notice anything off about your girlfriend? She doesn't talk about irrelevant things, she doesn't talk gossip, she's not emotional or anything, she doesn't watch childish TV shows? She may not be a toddler, Stefan, but she sure as hell acts like one. And this is where your occult friend Bonnie Bennett comes in, who's not as nice as she appears to be"

Stefan threw his head in his neck and groaned. "Not again, eh" he complained. "We've been through this, Katherine. Bonnie is not the villain. Okay, I admit, she's done a few questionable things in the past, but always with good reasons and weren't we the ones who lured her out in the first place? If something bad happens and she has a hand in it, we might be just as guilty" he defended his friend.

"I'm going to bed" Katherine said grumpy. "I'll see you in the morning"

"Sure" Stefan said.

"You know what I don't understand, Stefan?" Katherine said as she passed him. She turned around. "Why you insist on believing Damon is a horrible person, but not for one second Bonnie's not a saint either"

* * *

 

**Part 6**

Kelsey poked her sister to wake her up. Amber opened her eyes and looked around. They were still in the woods and seemed to have spent the night there. Kelsey pulled her sister up and dragged her with her.

"What's the rush?" Amber asked surprised by Kelsey's speed.

"We need to get you somewhere safe" Kelsey said agitated, not slowing down.

"Why? Okay, I know I have to be careful for the sheriff and vampire hunters, but I'm not going to get myself caught" Amber said.

"Trust me, the sheriff's the least of your worries right now" Kelsey said. She ran even faster. "What do you think is going to happen when the Salvatore Brothers find out about your action last night? If they don't know already"

Amber braced herself and Kelsey had to stop. "Damon knows…Well, he obviously has no idea who I am, but he saw me. He threw me against a tree. It hurt" Amber said.

Kelsey panted. "That's great, Am. That's just… great" she sighed. "You should've listened when mom and dad told us to stay out of trouble. They were right"

"Well, you didn't stay out of trouble, but you're fine now" Amber said. Kelsey looked at her with a sober smile. "I bet they didn't fill you in on what happened after that car accident?"

Amber shook her head. "Don't feel left out… They didn't tell me a thing, either… I had to find out the hard way" Kelsey continued, with a bitter undertone. She turned around and walked further.

She stopped when Amber raced in front of her. "All I remember is mom and dad were arguing with you. I heard you crying and dad told you to leave and never come back. And that's the last time you were home" she said. "Is there something else I should know about that night?"

For a moment Kelsey wanted to tell everything to the person she was closest with. But then she shook her head. "You're not ready for it" she said.

* * *

 

**Part 7**

Elena felt how someone caressed her cheek. She smiled and took the hand. She opened her eyes and her smile faded away when she looked in Stefan's brown eyes. She blinked and scribbled back until she hit the edge of her bed.

"Oh" she let out. "It's you" she said. Stefan laughed. "Well, of course it's me. Who else did you expect?" he asked rhetorically. He took Elena's hand and pulled her out of bed. He took her face in his hands. "I'm sorry for being such a jerk yesterday. I was… awful. I almost got you killed" he said soft.

"Oh, well, I'm still alive" Elena said happy. "Damon took care of me" she nodded to reassure Stefan. Stefan growled softly. "Well, then I should thank him" he said. Elena widened her eyes.

"Can we visit him? Can we? Please, please, pretty pleeeeeaaaassse?" she begged, jumping up and down and folding her hands. Stefan rubbed his temple and realized this was not the right time to refuse Elena anything. "Sure" he gave in. "Why not"

"Yaaay!" Elena cheered and she kissed him. She let go of him and walked to her cupboard. "What shall I wear?"

"Clothes, perhaps?" Stefan suggested.

Elena averted her head to her not very helpful boyfriend. "I can't just wear anything, Stefan. I need to make the right combination" she said while she examined her clothes. Eventually she took out some jeans shorts and a green tank top. "Be right back" she said and she went to the bathroom.

Stefan heard her sing 'I'm so excited' while she showered. He couldn't remember her singing in the shower before. She had to be really happy and if he was realistic he knew that wasn't because of him.

* * *

 

**Part 8**

After he had gotten breakfast and his guardian had left he crawled to the wall on the opposite side of the room. He had to be very quiet, because he knew she wasn't the only one who could hear him. The other vampires had a very good hearing too. He lay his hands on the wall and whispered: "Caroline?" No response. "Caroline" a little harder, but still soft.

Caroline lifted her head and opened her ears. No way! That was not possible. When Amber said there were others Caroline assumed she was talking about vampires, not werewolves.

"Tyler? Is that you?" she asked.

"Yeah, but keep your voice down" Tyler warned. "If you can hear me, so can the rest of your kind"

"Right" Caroline said. "When did you get here?"

"About two weeks ago" Tyler answered.

"Then they must've taken us around the same time" Caroline concluded. "Do you know what they're up to? What they want from us?"

"Well, I can be wrong" Tyler started. "But I think it has something to do with the full moon"

For a few seconds it was completely silent at the other side.

"Were you trying to be funny?" Caroline asked eventually.

"Eh, yeah, kind of" Tyler said, making Caroline laugh.

"I'm sorry" Caroline said. "It's not funny… at all. I'm starving and they refuse to give any blood. When I got here I would get at least some of it, but now I get nothing. How can we be useful when we're starved to death?"

"Obvious. When they release you when you're really hungry, you'll kill more people" Tyler said.

"By that time I'll be too weak to do anything. It would be impossible for me to kill anyone" Caroline said.

"Not if they bring the food to you" Tyler said after another few silent seconds.

* * *

 

**Part 9**

Stefan's eyes glided from Elena's top to her naked legs. "You really had nothing else to wear?" he asked doubtful. Elena frowned her eyebrows and pouted. "What's wrong with this?" she asked, looking at her clothes.

"Nothing" Stefan waved his hand. "It's fine. You look great, Elena"

"Are you angry with me?" Elena asked careful.

"No, I'm not angry" Stefan said annoyed.

"Yes, you are" Elena said upset. She crossed her arms and pressed the door bell, refusing to look at Stefan.

Stefan walked next to her. "Elena, come on, don't… be like this, okay? Look, I know you're going through a weird time right now. You have all these different emotions and you don't know how to deal with them. But don't act like a little child, because that's making me annoyed" he said.

Fortunately Elena didn't have to comment on that, because the door opened and Damon appeared.

"Elena" he said and he frowned. Elena thought he wasn't happy to see her. "Come in" he said and he let her pass. Stefan wanted to follow her, but Damon blocked him.

"Thank you for what you did last night" Stefan said. Damon nodded and came outside. "It wasn't for you" he said. "I know" Stefan said. "But thanks anyway"

Damon came closer until his face was next to his brothers. "Let's get one thing straight" he said soft, but threatening. "If you ever put Elena in that kind of jeopardy again I will kill you without blinking. I won't care you're my brother and I won't care Elena loves you. My first priority is Elena's safety"

"Then our first priority doesn't differ from each other" Stefan said. He looked inside. "Are you letting me in?"

Damon stepped aside and Stefan walked in, towards Elena. Damon looked around him to make sure no one uninvited was around, before getting inside and shutting the door. He walked further into the house and saw Stefan had served himself already.

Elena leaned against the sink, avoiding to look at Stefan. Damon walked to the fridge, opened it and got out a bottle of lemonade. Ever since Elena got all cheery/insane he made sure he always had some soda. He walked to the sink and handed the bottle to Elena.

"Here" he said, winking and he went standing next to her. Elena lay her head on his shoulder and embraced his waist. "I thought you weren't happy to see me" she said a little sad. Damon looked at her and lifted her chin with his finger. "I'm always happy to see you" he said soft.

Stefan rolled his eyes and drank a gulp from his blood. He walked to Elena, grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Damon.

"Oww!" Elena yelled. Damon raced to Stefan, grabbed his throat and threw him against a wall.

"Damon, no!" Katherine screamed. She speeded to Stefan, to make sure he was okay, but he already got up and went into counterattack. He grabbed Damon's collar and gave him a head butt.

Blood spurted from his nose, but Stefan didn't let him catch a breath. He gripped Damon's hair and pulled his head backward. "All I have to do is pull a little harder and your head will be hanging on my fingers" he growled. "Keep your hands off my girlfriend"

"Actually" Damon said difficult. "She can't keep her hands off of me"

Stefan opened his mouth and wanted to bite his brother. Elena, who until now had only viewed the scene with a terrified expression, understood despite her condition what was about to happen. And so did Katherine.

Both women jumped on Stefan. Damon felt Stefan's grip loosening and he rubbed his neck. Stefan struggled with the two look-a-likes and eventually pushed both away. Katherine jumped up immediately, but Elena lay still on the ground a few yards further.

"Elena" Damon said scared. He speeded to her and bent on his knees. He turned her around and saw the blood on her neck. "You bit her" he said with a trembling voice.

"What? No, I didn't bite anyone" Stefan said.

"I did" Katherine said. "It was me"

* * *

 

**Part 10**

Damon lifted Elena in his arms and walked out of the kitchen.

"I didn't mean to" Katherine hastily said, but Damon ignored her. Just like he ignored the headache and the corrosive pain on his back. He carried Elena upstairs to his bedroom and lay her on the bed.

"Give her some of your blood" Katherine said, standing in the doorway. Damon shook his head. "I can't do that" he said. "She will hate me"

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and how many times has she tried to? Trust me, Damon, she will not hate you" she said as she walked towards the bed. She lay her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, if you can't I will. After all I'm the one that bit her"

And before Damon could stop her she bit her own wrist and forced it on Elena. Damon and Katherine held their breath and Elena opened her eyes. "What just happened?" she asked. Katherine walked backwards to the door. "You can thank me later" she said with a wink before leaving the room.

"What happened?" Elena repeated.

"Katherine bit you by accident" Damon explained. Elena shook her head confused. "No, with you. You're in pain, I can see it"

"Stefan and I fought with each other" Damon said. Elena shook her head again and sat up. "No, there's something else… What's on your back?"

Damon shoved away from her. "Nothing" he said desperate. Why did she bring that up again? "Why do you ask that?" "Yesterday you were in pain. I saw it on your face. And your button-down was wet" she touched his clothes. "And now too. Damon, what is there?"

Damon shook his head. "Nothing" but a lot less convincing. "Please stop asking" he added and he got off the bed. "You need to rest" he said trying to change the subject. But Elena got out of bed too and followed Damon.

Before he could do anything she shoved her hand underneath his T-shirt and felt something wet and warm. She pulled her hand back and stared shocked at the blood on her fingers.

"Elena, don't" Damon protested as Elena held up his T-shirt and screamed. The next moment Damon fell down on the floor and convulsed and rolled on his sides, while screaming himself.

"What's happening?" Elena cried while watching Damon crawling on the floor. The door went open and Katherine and Stefan appeared in the room. "What's going on?" Stefan asked. He looked at Elena who was in total panic. "Someone's hurting him!" she cried. "Please, make them stop!"

"He's burning" Katherine panted. She pointed at the burns on Damon's face and arms. "Elena, take the sheets from his bed" she ordered the girl. Elena did what she was told. "Now go to him and cover him" While Elena walked to Damon, Stefan tightened Katherine's arm. "You really think that's going to work?" he said sarcastic.

"Bonnie will know Elena's close to him, physically. As much as she loathes Damon she will not risk Elena getting hurt" Katherine said. And she was right. As soon as Elena bent down to cover Damon with the sheets he stopped convulsing and the burns healed.

"Why did that happen?" Elena asked caressing Damon's hair.

"I wasn't allowed to show anyone what's on my back" Damon said weak.

"By who?" Elena asked.

"Hmm, three guesses" Katherine scorned.

"The Evil Enchantress" Damon said mischievous before passing out.

* * *

 


	9. Not What It Seems

**Part 1**

Stefan walked downstairs, Katherine following him. When he was downstairs she grabbed his arm and forced him to turn around. "Do you now  _finally_  believe me?" she said pissed off and shocked. "If your Bonnie sweetheart is so kind  _that_  wouldn't have happened" she pointed upstairs.

"I know, Katherine, I know" Stefan said. "I was wrong. I'm sorry, I should've trusted you" "You should've trusted Damon" Katherine pointed out.

"I know" Stefan repeated. He paced through the room. "Is there anything we can do to make it stop? And what exactly is wrong with Elena? Because you're right about the whole toddler thing"

"Bonnie put a spell on her to make her happy, but I guess she didn't think about the… side effects" Katherine said. She walked to the front door.

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked wondering.

"Where do you think?" Katherine said scornful. "I'm going to kill that bitch"

Stefan flashed to her. "No, you're not" he said. "She will take you down. You saw what she did to Damon and she wasn't even around. Imagine what she's capable of when she actually is"

Katherine raised her hands, reluctantly giving in. "Alright, then what do you suggest, because I'm not going to stand here and witness that bitch torturing one of mine" she said angry.

"I'll talk to her" Stefan said. "I was invited in, I can get in… But don't expect me to kill her"

"Well, then at least send her my greetings" she said showing her fangs, to make the message clear.

* * *

**Part 2**

"So, what's your story" Tyler asked. Now that he had someone to talk to his captivity had become less hard. "Who brought you here?"

Caroline sighed. "Stefan… And Amber" she said. "I was busy with the murder on Derek Janders and I found out who Amber Lindy, his girlfriend, was. But when I wanted to warn Elena Stefan sneaked up on me and kidnapped me. And Amber put the files on fire so all traces would be gone"

"What about your mother?" Tyler asked. "Doesn't she wonder where you are?"

"I guess she's compelled" Caroline said soft. She groaned. "I just want to get out of here! If they wouldn't keep giving me vervain I might be able to crash that door… Hey, how do they keep you… tamed? You're very strong"

"Well, yes, I'm strong, but I'm not as strong as a vampire and I definitely can't fight a group of vampires" Tyler explained. He waited a few seconds, before he added: "And I didn't really put up a fight"

"Wait, what?" Caroline asked confused. "Why not?"

"Because I saw them bringing you in" Tyler eventually said. "And I didn't want to leave you here alone, knowing I might be the only person you know"

For a few minutes Caroline didn't know what to say. Was Tyler insinuating what she thought he was? "That's really sweet, Tyler" she started. "But if you would've defended yourself you could've escaped and you might've been able to get help and then we could've been out of here by now"

"I will get help" Tyler said accenting. "When the full moon rises and I turn I will escape and find help"

"When is it full moon again?" Caroline asked.

"Seven days from now" Tyler answered.

* * *

**Part 3**

Damon lay on his bed, his eyes closed. He hadn't woken up since Bonnies attack. Elena sat on the bed, tears rolling over her face. She didn't understand any of this. Why was Stefan so mean to her?

Why did someone do this to Damon? And why did she have all these different emotions? She knew she was seventeen, but she didn't feel like that. She felt like a little kid. She wanted to be cuddled and cherished.

She lay down and snuggled against Damon's cold body. She weaved her fingers in his and lay her head on his chest. She felt him moving and looked up. He was awake.

"No, you need to lay down" Elena said, when Damon wanted to sit up. She pushed him back on the bed. "Oww!" Damon exclaimed. Elena gasped. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?" she asked concerned.

"A little" Damon admitted. "But I'll be fine" "No, you won't" Elena said upset. "When will you stop lying? Stop trying to be strong. You're not fine"

Damon sat up and shook the pillow, more to have something to do than something else. Elena went sitting behind him and lay her hands on his shoulders. "I couldn't exactly see what is on there, but I know it's bad. You should let someone take care of it" she said soft. "Let me take care of it"

"Elena, I'm fine" Damon protested, but she already jumped off the bed and left the room. Ten minutes later she came back with a bowl of hot water, some towels and ointment. "I don't think it's going to help, but I appreciate it" Damon said.

Elena crawled back on the bed behind Damon. She took the bottom of his T-shirt and carefully pulled it off, while Damon tried to stop her. "Damon, if you keep boycotting me I will call Katherine to hold your arms. Do you want that?"

And so Damon let Elena take of his upper clothes. He heard how Elena took a deep breath. "She wrote something. She in scripted a message on your back. Or actually burned it. But I have no idea what it says. It's a language I don't know"

She carefully glided with her fingers over the first letter, accidentally causing it to bleed. She gasped and took the towel she had dabbed into the hot water. "I'm so sorry" she said scared and she dabbed the wet towel against Damon's back.

He groaned, but Elena wasn't sure if that was of pain or of delight. "Is it better now?" she asked slowly, looking at Damon. "Much" he reassured her. Elena continued the nursing when she thought of something.

"Hey, you said this happened because you showed what's on your back. But I'm looking and even touching your back right now and nothing happens. How do you explain that?"

Damon thought of an explanation and said: "Well, something did happen. My wounds started bleeding again… I think she knows what we're doing right now. But she also knows she has to be careful. I think from now on she won't do anything unless I'm alone"

"Well, in that case it's really simple" Elena said dabbing the towel against Damon's back again. "You shouldn't be alone anymore… " She softly blew on his wounds and kissed his back.

Damon enclosed the sheets as Elena moved her lips upwards to his neck. She opened her mouth and softly bit the flesh. She moved her arms around his body, laying her hands on his thorax and tightening her grip.

Damon felt her breasts against his back and closed his eyes. He tried to get away, but Elena's grip was too tight. How could she be stronger than him? He didn't have much time to think about that, because Elena crawled up front and kissed him passionately.

"Elena, stop, you don't want to do this" Damon said breathing fast. But Elena pushed him down and massaged his chest. She bowed her head. "You're right, I really don't want to do this" she kissed his thorax. "Or this" she kissed his tummy. "Or this" as she went lower…and lower…and…

"Damon?"

Damon shook his head and came back to reality.

"Wow, you were far gone" Elena laughed. Damon turned around. What he just saw or imagined, alarmed him. He took Elena's hands and looked her in the eyes.

"Elena, you have to promise me something. Don't ever go somewhere after dark and make sure there's always someone with you… You're beautiful and vulnerable and a lot of guys try to take advantage of that. So if anyone tries to hurt you, you have to hurt them first. Even if it's me. If I ever do something inappropriate you have to stop me. Do you promise?"

Elena nodded heavily. "Yeah, off course" she said a little confused.

* * *

**Part 4**

Bonnie was lying on the couch watching television. She didn't really notice what show was on. She just needed to lay down. Taking Damon down had taken a lot more energy she had expected.

She closed her eyes, but unfortunately fate chose that moment to let the bell rang. Bonnie frowned her eyebrows out of frustration. She could sense who it was. "It's open!" she yelled. "Please, don't make me get up" she mumbled.

But the door stayed shut and no one entered. Bonnie groaned and swung her legs off the couch. "I'm coming!" she shouted when the visitor bang the door. She shuffled to the door and opened it. "You didn't hear me?" she asked sarcastic.

Stefan smiled. "Of course I did. I just wanted you to invite me in"

"I already did. You can come in whenever you want" Bonnie said confused.

"I know, but I also wanted to give you the opportunity to decline my request" Stefan continued.

"Oh" Bonnie said. "I see… Well, Stefan, please come in" She waved with her hand inside and Stefan entered the house. He walked to the kitchen and leaned against the sink. "So, what is it that brings you here? Wait, wait, wait, let me guess. Elena?"

Stefan bowed his head and looked up again, smiling at Bonnie. "Correct from the first time"

"You want some coffee?" Bonnie asked. Stefan shook his head. "Good, 'cause I have none" She sat on a chair and weaved her fingers in each other. "Okay, well, can we cut to the chase?"

Stefan flashed to Bonnie, grabbing her throat. She fell backwards along with the chair and Stefan landed on top of her. Bonnie focused, to give him a neurological pain, but Stefan squeezed her throat and smirked evil.

"That's not going to be of use. My sweet Bonnie, you have no idea who you're dealing with. Katherine told me you turned Elena into some teen/toddler. I have no idea what age she is emotionally, but you're going to bring the real Elena back"

Bonnie tried to breath. "I… can't" she said hoarse. "It's a complicated spell"

Stefan shook his head. "You're making excuses" he said. "I don't like that, it makes me cranky. So we'll do this one more time. You're going to bring back the real Elena. It's really simple"

"It's not simple" Bonnie said and tears filled her eyes. "I can't undo the spell. Elena needs to get out of it on her own terms. There's nothing I can do"

Stefan let go of her and pulled her up. He threw her against the wall and speeded to her. "Well, then I'm afraid we're facing a problem" he said soft. He took a step back and smiled.

"Lucky for you I have a suggestion and you better accept it, if you don't want that pretty face and that gorgeous body to be separated from one another…  _You_  will leave Damon alone.  _You_  will no longer harm him, torture him, or hurt him in any way possible. You got that?"

Bonnie nodded slowly.

"Okay, next point on our schedule,  _when_  will Elena come back?" Stefan asked.

Bonnie straightened her back, lifted her chin and looked Stefan in the eyes. "She will come back when the one who needs her the most… needs her the most"

"What?" Stefan asked confused. Bonnie took advantage of his confusion to make him get out.

* * *

 

**Part 5**

Damon and Elena were in the kitchen, while Jeremy was playing some videogame and Alaric was out.

"Okay, what kind of flavor do you want? We have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. Make your pick" Damon said, when he showed the three boxes of pudding powder. He was making dessert for after dinner.

"Ehm… strawberry" Elena said. She moved on her chair and felt something pushing against her leg. She stuck her hand in her pocket and took out her cell phone. She suspiciously looked at it.

"What's this?" she asked carefully. Damon turned his head and looked at the black, rectangle object that was Elena's phone. "That's your phone" he said. Elena picked it up and looked at it. Suddenly music came out of it.

Elena screamed and threw the phone on the table. "Oh my God, why is it doing that?" she said while making some big steps backwards. Damon lay down his spoon and walked to the table.

He picked up the phone and looked at the screen. "It's Stefan…You want to talk to him?" Elena frowned her eyebrows. "I can talk to him through that thing?" Damon nodded. "Yeah, well, you don't have to. He can leave a message" he said.

He came closer to Elena and handed out the phone. "It's not going to bite you" he said and Elena reluctantly accepted the phone which stopped ringing. "Okay, why did it stop now?" she asked scared. "Stefan must think you don't have your phone with you" Damon explained. "Don't worry, he'll leave a message"

Elena examined the phone.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked. "I'm looking for an opening" Elena said. "How can Stefan leave a letter in something this tiny?"

Damon laughed. "No, Elena, he doesn't put a letter in it. He just says something into his phone and then it goes to your phone and you can listen to it. You understand?" he asked with the tone as if he was speaking to a two year old.

Elena nodded slowly. She sniffed. "I smell something weird" she said after a while. "Damn it!" Damon cursed and ran to the cooker, but it was too late. Elena walked to the cooker and put her finger in the pan. She put it in her mouth. "Hmm. So this is how burned milk tastes like" she said.

She took the pan with her bare hands and let out a shriek. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" while she jumped up and down and blew her hands, tears in her eyes. "Elena!" Damon said. "You ought to be careful! It's hot"

"Yeah, I know that now!" Elena exclaimed waving her hands. "Put them under the water, quick" Damon commanded and he led her to the tap which he opened. He put her hands under the tap, letting the medium hot water stream. He heard Elena sob and wiped away a tear off her face.

"Feeling better?" he softly asked. Elena gave a little nod and turned around. "You're sweet" she said with a small voice. "I like you"

Damon smirked. "You know, I don't really feel like cooking anymore. What do you say we go out tonight? Hit some diner on the road"

"Sounds like fun" Elena willingly gave in.

* * *

  **Part 6**

It was as if it was open day. After Stefan had treated Bonnie with a visit it was now Jeremy's turn. He was standing on her doorstep and hadn't decided whether he would persist or just turn around again when the door opened and Bonnie appeared.

"How long are you going to stand here? Or were you just admiring my door?" she said a little short.

"Fine, I'm leaving" Jeremy said annoyed. He turned around and wanted to walk away, but Bonnie grabbed his arm, making him turn around again. "I'm sorry" she apologized. "You want to come in?" she offered.

"Sure" Jeremy said after a few seconds and he entered the house. He followed Bonnie into the living room where she offered him a seat. "Can I offer you a drink?" she said. "No, I'm good" Jeremy declined.

Bonnie shrugged. "Your call" she said and she sat down on the chair opposite of Jeremy. "Is there a reason why you're here? Or did you just happen to be in the neighborhood?" she asked.

"No, I wasn't" Jeremy answered. "Actually I eh… wanted to thank you… for saving my life"

"You're welcome"

"I know I would be dead if you hadn't woke me up" Jeremy continued. "I'm in your depth, so if there's anything I can do for you"

Bonnie's thoughts worked on highest acceleration. She thought about how much time Damon and Elena spent together despite Bonnie's attempts to prevent that. She thought about Katherine who would take her down as soon as she got the chance. And she thought about Stefan's warning.

"There's something you could do for me" she started.

"Name it" Jeremy said. He hated to be in Bonnie's depth, so the sooner he could pay it off, the better.

"It's nothing big, don't worry" Bonnie smiled. "I just think you should spend a little more time with Elena. She's with Damon all the time, I don't want her to break up with Stefan. They're such a cute couple. You don't want them to break up, do you?"

"I just want her to be happy. I don't care if that's with Stefan or Damon or whoever" Jeremy said.

Bonnie lay her hands on Jeremy's. "I'm her best friend" she said. "Don't you think I know who makes her happy? Trust me, Jeremy. She belongs to Stefan. They are the true epic love story"

* * *

 

**Part 7**

"So, you and your wife are having dinner when the bell rings and your daughter stands on the doorstep. You let her in and for a moment there's a whole bonding feeling. Then you confront her with the accusations against her and she loses her mind.

She threatens you and runs to her room. You call the police, let them in and then hide in the basement with your wife. You must've heard it when Amber hit the ground. A fall that high is hard not to hear. Didn't it occur to you that she might have been dead? Or did you just not care?"

Gabe Lindy was sitting in the police office being interrogated by Sheriff Liz Forbes. "Are you trying to insinuate I don't care for my daughter, that I didn't look after her?" he said angry. "I tried to protect her"

Liz nodded. "Like you tried to protect your other daughter. Didn't work out that well, did it?"

Gabe's face stiffened and he relegated on his uncomfortable seat. "I don't have another daughter. We only have Amber"

Liz nodded again and opened a map in front of her. "Kelsey Lindy, 23, Mystic Falls, Virginia. She works in the local hospital as a nurse. Very nice girl, popular too, up until three years ago when she suddenly disappeared off the planet. Can you tell us what happened then?"

"I already said I don't have a daughter besides Amber" Gabe stuck to his story.

"She saved your daughter" Liz said. "When Amber had jumped Kelsey came forward and took care of her. Unfortunately the deputy that was with them got killed off and the Lindy sisters escaped. We're not stupid, Mr. Lindy. We know either one or both of your daughters might have the blood of Greg Ferrell on their hands. It was weird enough Amber could still walk after that jump. Ferrell's neck was snapped and he was drained of blood… So, Mr. Lindy, is Amber still your only daughter?"

* * *

 

**Part 8**

There was a line up until Tokyo, but Damon and Elena waited patiently for their turn. They were in a hamburger place. While they slowly moved forward Damon examined the menu's on the wall. They had numbers to pick from.

"You know what you're going to pick?" he asked Elena. "Hmm, am I supposed to pick something veggie and healthy?" Elena asked. "Elena" Damon said. "It's a hamburger place. Not even the air in here is healthy. Pick whatever you want"

"Yay!" Elena said. "Then I'm going for number 7 and a coke"

"Diet or regular?" Damon asked.

"Regular, duh" Elena said a little cocky. "Diet's for losers"

"You're right" Damon said.

"Yeah?" the woman behind the desk said a little rude.

"Can we have a number seven, a number two, a coke and a beer? And, Elena, do you want ketchup with your fries?"

Elena nodded.

"And ketchup" Damon added to his order.

The woman said the price, Damon paid it.

"Someone will bring your order to your table in a minute" the woman said. Damon led Elena to a table in a corner where they had a perfect view of the whole place. On a table not so far from theirs there were three rough-looking guys looking their way.

One of them threw a kiss at Elena. He was rather skinny, had black hair up until his shoulders and a row of piercings in his left ear. He wore a skinny jeans, boots with heels and a tight T-shirt, sleeves up so everyone could view his tattoo of…

"Is that the graveyard?" Elena asked, squeezing her eyes.

"I think it is" Damon said. "What a loser"

A waitress brought their order and Elena attacked.

"Good stuff?" Damon asked nodding at her hamburger.

"Mm-hm" Elena nodded with a mouth full of meat, vegetables, sandwich and mayonnaise and onions and pickles. She put her finger in her mouth and picked out the pickles. She shivered and swallowed.

"You know what?" she said and she took her plastic knife. "You get half of mine" she said while she cut her hamburger in half. "and I'll get half of yours" She put the half on Damon's plate and already halved Damon's burger before he could say anything.

"Suit yourself" he said. "Be careful, it's a little spicy"

They looked up when they heard a cough. The loser was standing next to their table. Damon and Elena shared a glance and then Damon looked at the guy. "What? You want the salt? Take it, it's yours" he said and he shoved the salt to the guy, hoping he now would get lost.

However, the guy had only eyes for Elena. "I saw you staring at my tattoo and I thought I should give you a closer look. I took pictures of them and told the tattoo man to make them exactly the same. You recognize this one?" he asked and pointed at a grave.

Elena read the tiny letters and gasped. Damon noticed how tears filled her eyes. He gripped the guy's arm and looked at it. He soon noted the image of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert's grave. "You sick bastard" Damon said breathing fast.

He wanted to get up, but the guy raised his hands. "Okay, I get the message" he said. "I thought you were curious, but no hard feelings"

He walked back to his friends.

"Are you alright?" Damon asked. Elena nodded, a little shaky.

* * *

 

**Part 9**

"You do want Elena back, right?" Jeremy asked. He was sitting at the living table with Stefan. They were in the boarding house. Katherine was upstairs, refusing to be part of any of this.

"Jeremy, she is still my girlfriend" Stefan said. "I haven't lost her"

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's why she's with Damon now" he said.

Stefan closed his eyes, trying not to lose his temper. "She's a free girl, Jeremy, she's not my property" he said with a trembling voice that made it sound like he thought otherwise. "Damon is her friend and I promised I wouldn't keep her away from him"

"Oh, I get it" Jeremy slowly said. "Reversed psychology. If you wouldn't let her see him she'd go behind your back. Good thinking, except that your master plan didn't really pull off. She's still with him"

"But at least I know" Stefan said, clenching his teeth.

"Right" Jeremy said. "Will she give you a call when they're about to make out? 'Cause in that case I guarantee you your phone is about to ring"

Stefan shook his head. "No, that's not going to happen. Because Elena is emotionally not stable to do anything you're insinuating"

Jeremy thought about that and okay, he had noticed a change in Elena's behavior, but what the heck was Stefan talking about?

"Yeah, well, maybe so, but Damon is. He could try something on her. More even, he will try something on her. You want that on your conscious?"

Stefan looked at Jeremy as if it was the first time he saw him. "Where are they?"

Jeremy pulled his shoulders. "I have no clue. Elena just said something about hitting a diner on the road"

"I'll find them" he said and raced out of the door.

The moment he left Jeremy regretted what he'd done. This wasn't like him. He felt like a traitor, all because he didn't want to be in Bonnie's depth.

* * *

 

 

**Part 10**

"I think we should go" Damon said, looking at the clock. It was eleven p.m. "Okay, I'll just go refresh myself and then we can leave" Elena said. She got up and walked to a red door next to the desk.

To get there she had to pass the table were tattoo-guy and companions were still sitting. She felt her heart beating faster and she got sweaty palms. But they didn't look up and she reached the bathroom without a problem.

When she closed the door behind her she dared to breathe again. There were two doors opposite of each other. One said men, the other women. She opened the women's door and walked in.

The three guys were getting ready to leave. Other than them and Damon and Elena no one was there. "I'm going to wash my hands first. These paper things are worthless" tattoo-guy said. "I'll be right back"

He walked to the bathroom, where he saw Elena standing by the hand basin. It was a long one, so several people could stand next to each other. Elena shoved up a little when she saw him. He opened the tap and washed his hands. When he was ready he turned around at Elena.

"Hey, I eh, I wanted to apologize. What I did in there was unacceptable" he said. "It's been a while since I saw a beautiful girl, let alone talk to one. I was just showing off"

Elena nodded.

"That guy in there" he continued, looking at the door. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Damon?" Elena said. "No, he's not… I'm actually dating his brother Stefan"

"So you're dating Stefan, but you go out with Damon. What is this, some open relationship? I like this Stefan, he seems like a very sharing person" tattoo-guy said. "I'm sure he won't mind if I do this" he leaned forward and forced a kiss on her.

"Don't do that" Elena said and she tried to push the guy away… But he was really strong. "A girl like you shouldn't be dressed like that" he said with a hungry look in his eyes.

He pushed her against the basin with one hand and with the other he opened his belt. "Nooo, please, don't hurt me!" Elena screamed.

Damon got up and headed to the bathroom, but in the middle of the hallway he was blocked by Stefan.

"Get out of my way" Damon said agitated.

"Why?" Stefan asked arrogant.

"Elena, she…" Damon panted.

Stefan grabbed his collar. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing! Will you just listen?" Damon said angry and nervous.

Stefan focused and listened.

Elena was screaming, tattoo-guy was laughing, they heard a bang, bone breaking and a body that hit the floor. And all of that happened in the one minute Stefan and Damon were standing there face to face.

Stefan finally let go of Damon and together they ran into the bathroom. Tattoo-guy was lying on the ground, blood coming out of his head. There was blood on the basin too. Apparently he had fallen on the basin, broke his skull and dropped dead.

They heard sobbing and turned around. Elena was sitting in a corner, her arms around her legs, crying. Damon wanted to go to her, but this time Stefan was quicker. He ducked and lay his hands on hers.

"Elena, sweetie? Look at me" he said, lifting up her chin. "This is not your fault. He tried to do something really bad and you just defended yourself. It was an accident"

Elena looked at Damon. "I just did what you told me to. You said if anyone wanted to hurt me I had to hurt them first"

"Elena, we're going to walk out of here, and we'll get you home" Stefan said.

"What are you going to do with the body?" Elena asked.

"I'll take care of it" Damon said. "As soon as I know you're safe. Are you okay with that?" he asked Stefan. Stefan nodded and the three of them walked out.

As soon as they were really gone, tattoo-guy moved and scribbled up.

"I thought they'd never leave" he said and he slowly walked out of the bathroom, and out of the hamburger place.

* * *

 

 


End file.
